Authorship and Contributorship Policy

Authorship and Contributorship Policy

The Journal of Sports Science Academy (JOSSA) is committed to ensuring that authorship accurately reflects scholarly contribution, responsibility, and accountability.

Authorship provides academic credit but also carries responsibility for the integrity of the published work. JOSSA therefore requires that all individuals listed as authors meet the journal's authorship criteria and that individuals who meet those criteria are not inappropriately excluded from authorship.

Individuals who contribute to a study but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be recognized appropriately as non-author contributors.

JOSSA follows internationally recognized principles of responsible authorship and contributorship and encourages transparent reporting of individual contributions.

1. Criteria for Authorship

To qualify as an author of a manuscript submitted to JOSSA, an individual must meet all four of the following criteria:

1. Make a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work; or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work;

AND

2. Draft the manuscript or critically review it for important intellectual content;

AND

3. Approve the final version of the manuscript to be published;

AND

4. Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work and to ensure that questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals designated as authors should meet all four criteria.

Individuals who meet all four criteria should not be excluded from authorship.

A contributor who satisfies the first criterion should be given a reasonable opportunity to participate in manuscript preparation or critical review, final approval, and accountability so that legitimate contributors are not intentionally prevented from qualifying for authorship.

2. Responsibility and Accountability of Authors

Each author is responsible for the integrity of their own contribution and should be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for other specific aspects of the work.

All authors should have reasonable confidence in the integrity of their co-authors' contributions.

By approving submission of a manuscript to JOSSA, each author confirms that:

• they meet the journal's authorship criteria;
• they have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript;
• they approve the author list and author order;
• they agree to submission of the manuscript to JOSSA;
• they accept responsibility for their own contribution;
• they agree to cooperate with legitimate editorial inquiries concerning the accuracy or integrity of the work; and
• they will provide relevant information or documentation if requested during an editorial or research-integrity review.

Authorship cannot be used solely as a form of recognition, honorary status, professional courtesy, or institutional reward.

3. Author Contribution Statement

All manuscripts submitted to JOSSA must include an Author Contributions Statement identifying the contributions of each author.

JOSSA encourages the use of the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to promote transparent and standardized reporting of contributions.

Relevant CRediT roles include:

• Conceptualization;
• Data curation;
• Formal analysis;
• Funding acquisition;
• Investigation;
• Methodology;
• Project administration;
• Resources;
• Software;
• Supervision;
• Validation;
• Visualization;
• Writing – original draft;
• Writing – review & editing.

More than one author may be credited with the same role, and a single author may have multiple roles.

The contribution statement should accurately reflect the work actually performed.

A CRediT contribution role does not by itself establish authorship. Individuals listed as authors must still satisfy the full authorship criteria stated in this policy.

Example

Author Contributions:
A.A.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing – original draft.
B.B.: Formal analysis, Data curation, Visualization.
C.C.: Supervision, Validation, Writing – review & editing.
All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.

4. Corresponding Author

One author must be designated as the Corresponding Author.

The Corresponding Author serves as the principal point of communication between JOSSA and the author group during submission, peer review, publication, and, where necessary, post-publication correspondence.

The Corresponding Author is responsible for:

• ensuring that all listed authors meet the authorship criteria;
• ensuring that no qualifying author has been omitted;
• confirming that all authors have reviewed and approved the submitted version;
• confirming that all authors approve the author order;
• ensuring that all required declarations are complete and accurate;
• coordinating responses to Editors and reviewers;
• informing all authors of significant editorial communications and decisions;
• ensuring that revised versions are approved by all authors where appropriate;
• providing requested documentation on behalf of the author group; and
• maintaining appropriate communication with the journal after publication when necessary.

The responsibilities of the Corresponding Author do not reduce the individual responsibility or accountability of the other authors.

JOSSA reserves the right to contact any listed author directly to verify authorship, approval, disclosures, contributions, or other information relating to the manuscript.

5. Approval of Submission by All Authors

A manuscript must not be submitted to JOSSA without the knowledge and approval of all listed authors.

The Corresponding Author must confirm during submission that all authors:

• are aware of the submission;
• have approved the manuscript;
• agree to the author list and order;
• agree to submission to JOSSA; and
• accept the responsibilities associated with authorship.

JOSSA may request direct confirmation from individual authors when necessary.

Submission of a person's name as an author without their knowledge or permission constitutes a serious authorship concern.

6. Author Order

The order of authors should be determined collectively by the author group according to the nature and significance of their contributions and relevant disciplinary conventions.

JOSSA does not determine author order on behalf of authors.

Academic rank, institutional seniority, administrative authority, financial power, supervisory status, or other indicators of hierarchy should not be used improperly to determine author position.

All authors should agree to the author order before submission.

Disputes regarding author order should normally be resolved by the authors and, where necessary, their institution rather than by the journal.

7. Inappropriate Authorship Practices

JOSSA does not permit inappropriate authorship practices.

These include, but are not limited to:

7.1. Ghost Authorship

Ghost authorship occurs when an individual who made contributions sufficient to qualify for authorship is omitted from the author list.

This includes undisclosed professional writers or other contributors whose contribution meets the authorship criteria.

7.2. Gift or Honorary Authorship

Gift or honorary authorship occurs when a person is listed as an author despite not meeting the authorship criteria, for example because of:

• academic seniority;
• institutional position;
• departmental leadership;
• supervisory status alone;
• personal relationships;
• prestige;
• reciprocal arrangements; or
• expectation of professional benefit.

7.3. Guest Authorship

Guest authorship occurs when a person who does not qualify for authorship is included primarily to increase the perceived prestige, credibility, visibility, or likelihood of acceptance of a manuscript.

7.4. Coercive Authorship

No individual should use academic, supervisory, institutional, financial, or professional power to demand authorship without meeting the applicable criteria.

7.5. Purchased, Sold, or Fabricated Authorship

The purchase, sale, exchange, fabrication, or unauthorized addition of authorship positions is prohibited and constitutes a serious publication ethics concern.

Suspected inappropriate authorship may be investigated under JOSSA's publication ethics procedures.

8. Contributors Who Do Not Qualify for Authorship

Individuals who contribute to a study but do not meet all authorship criteria should not be listed as authors.

Their contributions may instead be acknowledged appropriately.

Activities that alone do not normally qualify an individual for authorship include:

• acquisition of funding;
• general supervision;
• administrative support;
• routine data collection without sufficient intellectual contribution;
• provision of materials or resources;
• technical assistance;
• language editing;
• proofreading;
• general statistical assistance without substantial intellectual contribution;
• routine laboratory assistance; and
• other supporting activities that do not meet the complete authorship criteria.

Contributors may be acknowledged individually or collectively, and their contribution should be described.

Where acknowledgment could reasonably imply endorsement of the manuscript, the Corresponding Author should obtain permission from the individual to be named in the Acknowledgments section.

9. Funding and Authorship

Providing research funding or financial support does not by itself qualify an individual for authorship.

Similarly, being the head of a laboratory, department, institution, research group, or funded project does not automatically establish authorship.

Individuals involved in funding acquisition may be credited in the Author Contributions Statement where appropriate and should be acknowledged in the Funding Statement.

Authorship requires fulfillment of the full criteria described in this policy.

10. Institutional Affiliation

Each author's institutional affiliation should accurately identify the institution or institutions where the relevant research was primarily conducted or with which the author was appropriately affiliated during the work.

Affiliation information should normally include:

• department, unit, or faculty where applicable;
• institution;
• city;
• country.

Where an author has changed institutions after completing the research, the affiliation associated with the work should normally be retained and the author's current address may be provided separately where appropriate.

Institutional affiliation must not be fabricated, misleading, or used solely to increase perceived prestige.

Institutional affiliation and academic title do not determine eligibility for authorship.

11. ORCID and Author Identification

JOSSA supports the use of ORCID iDs and other persistent researcher identifiers to improve the accuracy of author identification and scholarly metadata.

Authors are encouraged to provide their ORCID iDs during submission and to ensure that the identifier belongs to them and is accurately associated with their name.

Where ORCID information is supplied, authors are responsible for its accuracy.

An ORCID iD is an identification mechanism and does not itself establish eligibility for authorship.

12. Changes to Authorship Before Publication

Requests to add, remove, reorder, or otherwise modify the author list after initial submission must be justified.

Any authorship change should normally include:

• a clear explanation of the reason for the requested change;
• written agreement from all existing authors;
• written agreement from any author being added or removed; and
• an updated Author Contributions Statement where appropriate.

JOSSA may suspend editorial processing while an authorship-change request is evaluated.

The journal reserves the right to request additional documentation.

Authorship changes will not be approved solely for strategic, administrative, reputational, or citation-related reasons.

13. Authorship Changes After Acceptance

Authorship changes requested after acceptance are subject to heightened scrutiny.

Such requests must be supported by a legitimate explanation and documented agreement from all affected authors.

JOSSA may decline to proceed with publication until the authorship issue has been resolved.

If the requested change indicates a possible authorship dispute or ethical concern, the journal may refer the matter to the relevant institution.

14. Authorship Changes After Publication

Authorship changes after publication are exceptional and require careful editorial assessment.

Where an authorship correction is justified, JOSSA may publish an appropriate correction linked to the original article.

If an authorship dispute cannot be resolved by the authors, JOSSA may seek clarification or a determination from the relevant institution or other competent body.

JOSSA does not normally adjudicate disputed claims of authorship where the underlying facts require institutional investigation.

15. Authorship Disputes

Authors are expected to determine authorship and author order collectively and preferably at an early stage of the research.

When a disagreement arises, authors should first attempt to resolve the matter through documented discussion.

If the dispute cannot be resolved, the matter should be referred to:

• the institution or institutions where the research was conducted;
• an institutional research integrity office;
• another appropriately competent body.

JOSSA may pause editorial consideration of a manuscript while a significant authorship dispute remains unresolved.

Editors should not independently determine which individual deserves authorship when the dispute depends on facts that require institutional investigation.

Once the journal receives an appropriate institutional determination, it may take the necessary editorial action.

16. Group and Consortium Authorship

JOSSA permits group or consortium authorship where appropriate.

When a manuscript is submitted under a group or consortium name:

• the responsible author group must clearly identify individuals who qualify as authors;
• individuals credited as authors must meet the applicable authorship criteria;
• non-author collaborators should be identified separately where appropriate;
• the Corresponding Author must provide sufficient information concerning the group's authorship and contribution structure; and
• relevant conflict-of-interest and disclosure requirements apply to individual authors.

The group name must not be used to conceal the identity or accountability of individuals responsible for the work.

17. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Artificial intelligence systems, generative AI tools, large language models, chatbots, and other AI-assisted technologies cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

AI systems cannot meet the requirements for authorship because they cannot:

• assume responsibility for the integrity of the work;
• approve the final manuscript;
• provide legally or ethically meaningful consent;
• disclose conflicts of interest;
• respond appropriately to allegations or questions concerning the work; or
• be held accountable for published content.

Human authors remain fully responsible for all submitted material created or modified with AI assistance.

Any use of AI or AI-assisted technologies must be disclosed in accordance with JOSSA's Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-Assisted Tools.

18. Authorship and Research Conducted with Local Collaborators

JOSSA encourages fair recognition of researchers who make substantive contributions to studies conducted in their institutions, communities, countries, datasets, laboratories, facilities, or participant populations.

Researchers should not be excluded from authorship solely because they are local collaborators, junior investigators, students, or members of institutions in lower-resource settings when they meet the journal's authorship criteria.

Conversely, local participation or institutional access alone does not automatically establish authorship.

Authorship decisions should reflect genuine scholarly contribution and accountability.

19. Duplicate and Overlapping Publication

Authors must inform JOSSA of closely related manuscripts, previous publications, preprints, conference papers, reports, datasets, or other outputs that may be relevant to determining whether substantial overlap exists.

Authors must not present substantially the same work as an original publication in more than one journal without appropriate justification, disclosure, and permission where required.

Relevant previous work must be cited transparently.

Suspected duplicate or redundant publication will be evaluated under JOSSA's publication ethics policies.

Preprint posting alone does not necessarily constitute prior publication where permitted under JOSSA policy, but it should be disclosed where required.

20. Author Name and Affiliation Corrections

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their names, affiliations, and identifiers are accurate at submission and during proofing.

Requests to correct factual errors in author names or affiliations after publication will be considered according to JOSSA's correction procedures.

A legitimate correction of an author's name or identity information should not automatically be treated as an authorship change where the identity of the author remains the same.

JOSSA will seek to handle such requests respectfully and with appropriate attention to privacy.

21. Author Declarations

Where applicable, manuscripts submitted to JOSSA must include relevant declarations concerning:

• Author Contributions;
• Conflict of Interest;
• Funding;
• Ethics Approval;
• Informed Consent;
• Consent for Publication;
• Data Availability;
• Artificial Intelligence Usage; and
• other disclosures required by the journal or relevant study design.

Each declaration serves a distinct purpose and must be accurate and complete.

False, misleading, fabricated, or deliberately incomplete declarations may constitute a publication ethics concern.

22. Verification and Investigation of Authorship Concerns

JOSSA may request supporting information when there is a legitimate concern regarding authorship or contributorship.

Depending on the circumstances, the journal may request:

• contribution statements;
• written confirmation from authors;
• institutional information;
• relevant correspondence;
• protocol or project documentation; or
• clarification from an institution.

The journal will not rely solely on academic rank, author order, affiliation, citation history, or other status indicators to determine authorship eligibility.

Where formal investigation is required, responsibility may be referred to the relevant institution or competent authority.

23. Post-Publication Authorship Concerns

If a serious authorship or contributorship issue is identified after publication, JOSSA may take appropriate action according to the nature of the matter.

Possible actions may include:

• requesting clarification;
• publishing a correction;
• correcting contribution information;
• correcting the author list where appropriately substantiated;
• referring the matter to an institution;
• issuing an Expression of Concern where necessary; or
• considering further action where the authorship issue is associated with broader research or publication misconduct.

Authorship corrections should be made transparently and should preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

24. Compliance with This Policy

Submission of a manuscript to JOSSA indicates that all listed authors agree to comply with this Authorship and Contributorship Policy.

The Corresponding Author has a coordinating role in ensuring compliance, but all authors remain individually responsible for the accuracy of authorship, contribution, disclosure, and accountability information relating to themselves.

JOSSA may take appropriate editorial action where authorship or contributorship information is inaccurate, misleading, disputed, fabricated, or inconsistent with this policy.

Policy Last Updated: September 2026