Authorship and Contributorship Policy
The International Journal of Social Exploration (IJSoE) is committed to responsible authorship practices and transparent acknowledgement of scholarly contributions.
Criteria for Authorship
Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a substantial scholarly contribution to the work. Such contributions may include:
- conception or design of the study;
- collection, generation, or interpretation of data;
- development of the theoretical or conceptual framework;
- methodological design or analysis;
- drafting substantial sections of the manuscript; or
- critically revising the manuscript for important intellectual content.
All listed authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for the integrity and accuracy of the work.
Guest, Gift and Honorary Authorship
Individuals who have not made an appropriate scholarly contribution must not be listed as authors.
Guest, gift, honorary, or courtesy authorship is not acceptable. Academic position, seniority, administrative authority, supervision alone, or provision of general support does not by itself justify authorship.
Ghost Authorship
Individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the research or preparation of the manuscript should not be omitted from appropriate authorship or acknowledgement.
Undisclosed ghost authorship is not acceptable.
Order of Authors
The order of authors should be agreed upon by all authors before submission and should reflect the contribution arrangement accepted by the author group.
The journal does not determine author order on behalf of contributors.
Corresponding Author
One author should be identified as the corresponding author.
The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal during submission, peer review, revision, and publication, and should ensure that all co-authors are appropriately informed of editorial decisions and manuscript changes.
The corresponding author should also confirm that all listed authors have approved the submitted and final versions of the manuscript.
Changes in Authorship
Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be supported by a clear explanation.
The Editorial Team may require written agreement from all affected authors before approving any change.
Requests for authorship changes after acceptance or publication will be considered only in exceptional circumstances and may require a formal correction notice where appropriate.
Contributions that Do Not Qualify for Authorship
Individuals who provide administrative assistance, technical support, language editing, general supervision, funding acquisition alone, or other support that does not meet the journal's authorship criteria should normally be acknowledged rather than listed as authors.
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from individuals named in acknowledgements where appropriate.
Responsibility and Accountability
All authors share responsibility for the integrity of the published work.
Authors should be able to identify their own contribution and should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions made by their co-authors.
Where concerns arise regarding authorship, contribution, or accountability, the Editorial Team may request clarification, contribution statements, supporting documentation, or institutional confirmation.
Contributorship Statement
Where appropriate, authors may be requested to provide a statement describing the specific contributions of each author to the research and manuscript.
The journal encourages transparency in contributorship and may adopt structured contributorship frameworks where appropriate.
Disputes Regarding Authorship
The journal does not normally adjudicate complex authorship disputes between researchers.
Where a dispute cannot be resolved through documentation and agreement among the authors, the journal may refer the matter to the relevant institution or research organization for investigation before proceeding with publication or authorship changes.
