Authorship

1. Authorship

An author is an individual, or a group of individuals (a group of co-authors), named on a manuscript submitted to, or an article published - in print or online - by the Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of Science (HCMCOUJS). The author or group of authors must satisfy all four (4) ICMJE authorship criteria in full. An individual who does not meet even one of the four criteria below may not be designated as an author and may only be recognized for their contribution in the Acknowledgements section.

ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) Authorship Criteria

Criterion

Detailed Description

1. Substantial Contribution

Contributing to the conception or design of the study; or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data

2. Drafting or Critical Revision

Drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important academic content

3. Final Approval

Approving the final version to be published

4. Accountability

Agreeing to be accountable for the accuracy and integrity of the entire work

 

Unacceptable Forms of Authorship

The Journal does not accept the following forms of authorship or authorship-related practices:

  • Ghost authorship;
  • Gift/guest authorship;
  • Buying, selling, or trading authorship positions;
  • Naming authors in order to influence editorial or peer review decisions.

2. Determining Author Roles and Contributions

All articles submitted through the HCMCOUJS online system must clearly, fully, and honestly disclose the role and level of contribution of each author according to the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy - 14 roles) classification system. This disclosure is intended to:

  • Ensure transparency in the attribution of scientific credit;
  • Prevent authorship ethics violations (ghost, guest, or gift authorship);
  • Align with COPE, ICMJE, and Scopus standards.

Each author must be assigned at least one (1) CRediT role, and the roles disclosed must accurately reflect the author's actual level of contribution to the article.

CRediT Roles (Contributor Roles Taxonomy)

CRediT Role

Detailed Description

Conceptualization

Formulating the research questions, objectives, theoretical framework, or hypotheses

Methodology

Designing the research methods, models, procedures, or analytical framework

Software

Programming, developing source code, algorithms, or computational tools

Validation

Verifying data, methods, reliability, and reproducibility of the results

Formal Analysis

Statistical analysis, modeling, and data processing

Investigation

Collecting data, conducting surveys, or performing experiments

Resources

Providing data, equipment, or research materials

Data Curation

Cleaning, standardizing, managing, and storing data

Writing - Original Draft

Drafting the initial manuscript

Writing - Review & Editing

Reviewing, revising, and editing academic content

Visualization

Designing tables, figures, and illustrative charts

Supervision

Providing academic guidance and scientific mentorship

Project Administration

Coordinating, managing progress, and organizing the conduct of the research

Funding Acquisition

Applying for and managing research funding

2.1. Author Roles in the Article

The roles recognized for authors in an article typically include:

Role

Criteria

First Author

Leads the conception and design of the research; carries out the essential part of data collection and analysis; drafts the initial manuscript; coordinates co-authors' contributions; ensures scientific integrity; must fully meet the ICMJE criteria.

Corresponding Author

Carries out the submission; is responsible for communication with the Journal throughout peer review and after publication; ensures that all authors approve the final manuscript; manages any changes to authorship; must fully meet the ICMJE criteria.

Co-authors

Make a significant academic contribution; participate in data collection, analysis, or writing; take part in internal revision and review; must fully meet the ICMJE criteria.

2.2. Author Order

  • Author order reflects the level of academic contribution and is established through a voluntary, transparent agreement among all authors;
  • The decision on author order is the authors' responsibility; the Journal and the Editorial Board do not intervene;
  • The corresponding author is marked with an asterisk (*) next to their name; if the first author is also the corresponding author, they are listed in position 1, otherwise the corresponding author is typically listed in position 2;
  • The corresponding author's information (full name, affiliation, country, email, ORCID) must be consistent between the author listing on the article and the submission system.

2.3. Changes to Authorship

Changes to authorship (including adding authors, removing authors, changing author order, or changing author roles) are considered a serious publication ethics matter and are only considered in exceptional cases with clear academic and legal grounds. The author list, author order, and author roles must be finalized before the manuscript proceeds to scientific peer review (i.e., after the final initial screening outcome). Author information in the Version of Record is regarded as the definitive scientific record. Earlier versions (preprint, postprint, accepted manuscript) are for reference only and do not create any right to change authorship once the article has been accepted.

Requests to change authorship are considered according to the manuscript's processing stage, as follows:

  • Submitted Manuscript / Revised Manuscript after Initial Screening (Preprint): A change of authorship may be considered if there is valid justification, a clear explanation, and complete supporting documentation in accordance with the Journal's requirements.
  • Revised Manuscript after Peer Review (Postprint): A change of authorship is considered only when genuinely necessary, and requires a detailed explanation and the written consent of all authors concerned.
  • Accepted Manuscript: As a rule, changes of authorship are not accepted. Exceptions are made only in special circumstances (for example, the discovery of a serious authorship error) and require the written approval of the Editor-in-Chief.
  • Published Version of Record: This is the sole official scientific record to be cited. Changes of authorship are not accepted. Any disputes or violations that arise will be handled in accordance with the Correction, Retraction & Post-Publication Policy.