Authorship Criteria

Journal of Language Education, Linguistics, and Culture is committed to fair, transparent, and responsible authorship practices. Authorship must reflect meaningful intellectual contributions to the research reported in a manuscript. All authors must meet the eligibility criteria below and accept responsibility for the integrity of the published work.

General Principles of Authorship

Authorship is both academic credit and scholarly responsibility. The order of authorship must be agreed upon by all authors and should reflect their respective contributions. Academic rank, institutional position, seniority, or personal relationships do not independently justify authorship.

Authorship Eligibility Criteria

To qualify as an author, an individual must satisfy all four criteria below, which are informed by the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

All four criteria must be met. Contributors who satisfy the first criterion should be given a reasonable opportunity to participate in manuscript drafting or critical review and final approval.

Contributions That Do Not Independently Qualify

The following contributions alone do not establish eligibility for authorship:

• Providing funding or financial support without substantive intellectual involvement.
• Holding a senior academic, administrative, or institutional position.
• Providing general supervision or administrative assistance.
• Facilitating access to a school, institution, or research location without further qualifying contributions.
• Providing routine technical assistance, data collection, proofreading, or language editing alone.
• Providing equipment, facilities, or logistical support without meeting the authorship criteria.

Individuals who contribute to the work but do not meet all authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately. Their contributions must be described accurately, and their permission should be obtained before they are acknowledged.

Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the journal and the author team throughout submission, peer review, revision, and publication. The corresponding author must:

• Confirm that all listed authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria.
• Obtain all authors’ approval of the submitted manuscript and its final version.
• Ensure that all authors agree with the author order and the corresponding author designation.
• Provide accurate author names, affiliations, contributions, and contact details.
• Disclose relevant conflicts of interest, funding sources, and ethical approvals.
• Communicate editorial decisions and revision requirements to all co-authors.
• Ensure that requested authorship changes are transparently communicated and supported by the agreement of all affected authors.

Author Contributions

Journal of Language Education, Linguistics, and Culture encourages transparent reporting of individual contributions. Where appropriate, authors may use the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to describe contributions such as conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data curation, formal analysis, supervision, validation, visualization, project administration, and writing. Contribution statements must accurately represent the work performed by each individual. A contribution statement or CRediT role does not replace the requirement to meet all authorship eligibility criteria.

Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be justified in writing and supported by the agreement of all authors affected by the change, including individuals being added or removed. The corresponding author must submit the request and the required confirmations to the editorial office. The journal may suspend editorial processing while the request is evaluated. Post-publication changes will be considered in accordance with the journal’s Correction, Retraction, and Withdrawal Policy. Where necessary, the journal may request supporting documentation or refer unresolved authorship disputes to the relevant institutions. See also Authorship during Review on the Peer Review Process page.

Improper Authorship

• Guest or gift authorship: listing someone who has not made sufficient contributions to qualify as an author.
• Honorary authorship: granting authorship solely because of academic rank, seniority, position, funding, or personal relationships.
• Ghost authorship: improperly omitting an individual who has made substantial qualifying contributions to the work.

All authorship decisions must reflect actual contributions, fulfilment of the stated criteria, and transparent agreement among the author team. Suspected inappropriate authorship may lead to requests for clarification, suspension of editorial processing, rejection, correction, or other appropriate action under the journal’s Publication Ethics Statement.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including generative AI systems, cannot be listed as authors, because they cannot assume responsibility or accountability for scholarly work. Authors who use AI tools in manuscript preparation must disclose such use in accordance with the journal’s Artificial Intelligence Policy. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, references, ethical compliance, and integrity of all submitted content, including content generated or assisted by AI tools. AI assistance does not independently qualify an individual for authorship.

Authorship Disputes and Editorial Action

Authorship disputes should initially be addressed by the authors and their affiliated institutions. The journal does not determine authorship solely on the basis of academic rank or institutional authority. When concerns arise about inappropriate authorship, undisclosed contributions, or inaccurate author declarations, the editorial team may request clarification, supporting documentation, or an institutional investigation. Depending on the circumstances and the publication stage, the journal may suspend processing, reject a manuscript, request a correction, or take other appropriate action in accordance with its publication ethics policies.

Author Declaration

By submitting a manuscript to Journal of Language Education, Linguistics, and Culture, the corresponding author confirms that all listed authors have made qualifying contributions, approved the submitted version, agreed with the author order, and accepted responsibility for the integrity of the work. The corresponding author also confirms that no eligible contributor has been improperly excluded and that non-author contributions have been acknowledged appropriately.

Reference and Further Guidance

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors.