Authorship Criteria and Disclosures

The Journal of Biology Education Research (JBER) adheres to the ethical guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authorship confers academic credit and implies ethical, legal, and intellectual responsibility for the published work.

1. Criteria for Authorship

To qualify for authorship of a manuscript submitted to JBER, every listed author must meet all four of the following core criteria:

  1. Substantial Contributions: Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the study; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of empirical data.

  2. Drafting and Intellectual Input: Drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for significant intellectual and pedagogical content.

  3. Final Approval: Approval of the final version of the manuscript to be published.

  4. Accountability: Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy, integrity, or ethical standards of any part of the manuscript are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Individuals who do not meet all four criteria must not be listed as authors. Instead, their contributions must be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section.

2. Implementation of CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy)

To promote transparency and eliminate ambiguities regarding author contributions, JBER mandates the use of the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy). Each author’s specific contribution must be explicitly detailed in the manuscript before the reference list.

The roles recognized under CRediT include:

  • Conceptualization: Formulation of overarching research goals, questions, and hypotheses.

  • Methodology: Development or design of research methodology, biological assays, or pedagogical models.

  • Software: Programming, code development, or designing software tools used in the research.

  • Validation: Verification of the overall replication and reproducibility of results/experiments.

  • Formal Analysis: Application of statistical, computational, or qualitative analytical techniques.

  • Investigation: Conducting the research and data collection process (e.g., laboratory experiments, ecological field observations, classroom surveys, or interviews).

  • Resources: Provision of study materials, instruments, biological specimens, classroom environments, or laboratory access.

  • Data Curation: Management activities to annotate, scrub, and maintain research data.

  • Writing – Original Draft: Creation and initial drafting of the manuscript.

  • Writing – Review & Editing: Critical review, substantive commentary, and editing of the manuscript before and after review.

  • Visualization: Preparation, creation, and presentation of figures, schemes, and data visualizations.

  • Supervision: Oversight and leadership responsibility for research planning and execution.

  • Project Administration: Management and coordination responsibility for the research activity.

  • Funding Acquisition: Acquisition of financial support leading to this publication.

(Note: One author may contribute across multiple roles, and a single role may be shared among multiple authors).

3. Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The designated Corresponding Author acts as the primary administrative and intellectual contact with the editorial office throughout the peer-review, production, and post-publication processes. Responsibilities include:

  • Ensuring that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript prior to submission.

  • Confirming that all individuals who qualify as authors are included, and no ineligible individuals are listed.

  • Securing written consensus for any authorship modifications.

  • Facilitating the completion of conflict of interest, funding, copyright, and ethical clearance declarations.

  • Handling editorial correspondence, responding to peer-review revisions, and proofreading the final PDF galley.

  • Acting as the guarantor of the scientific record and responding to scholarly queries or integrity inquiries after publication.

4. Prohibited Authorship Practices

JBER strictly condemns and enforces a zero-tolerance policy toward unethical authorship arrangements:

  • Gift / Honorary Authorship: Including individuals who have made no substantial intellectual contribution to the research (e.g., department heads, senior colleagues, or mentors included solely out of respect or prestige).

  • Guest Authorship: Listing prominent researchers to artificially elevate the perceived credibility or acceptance chances of the submission.

  • Ghost Authorship: Omitting individuals who substantially contributed to the research design, data analysis, or manuscript writing.

  • Commercial / Paper Mill Submissions: Purchasing authorship or utilizing third-party ghostwriting services. Manuscripts originating from paper mills will be summarily rejected or retracted.

5. Acknowledgements (Non-Author Contributions)

Contributors who do not meet all four authorship criteria must be recognized in the Acknowledgements section with their permission. Examples of non-author contributions include:

  • Technical, administrative, or classroom teaching assistance.

  • Provision of routine laboratory facilities, field stations, or school equipment.

  • Language editing, proofreading, or translation services.

  • General supervision of a research group or academic department without active intellectual involvement in the specific study.

6. Policy on Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)

Artificial Intelligence tools, Large Language Models (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude), and machine learning software cannot be credited as authors or co-authors.

  • AI tools lack legal personality, cannot give consent, cannot sign copyright agreements, and cannot take responsibility for the integrity and validity of the published work.

  • Any application of generative AI in drafting, coding, data processing, or language editing must be formally disclosed in the designated Declaration of Generative AI section of the manuscript.

7. Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, delete, or rearrange author names must be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief prior to publication and will only be considered under exceptional, justified circumstances:

  • Prior to Publication: The corresponding author must provide a written explanation explaining why the change is necessary, accompanied by signed written confirmation (via email or consent form) from all original and proposed authors agreeing to the addition, removal, or reordering.

  • After Publication: Post-publication requests to modify authorship are evaluated under strict COPE guidelines. If justified and approved by the Editorial Board, a formal Correction (Corrigendum) will be published.

  • Authorship Disputes: The editorial team does not adjudicate ownership disputes. If an unresolved disagreement arises among authors, the review or publication process will be suspended until the authors or their affiliated institutions resolve the matter.

8. Author Identifiers (ORCID iD)

To ensure unambiguous attribution of scholarly output and prevent name disambiguation, JBER strongly recommends that all authors provide their persistent digital identifier (ORCID iD). The Corresponding Author is required to provide an authenticated ORCID iD during the submission process.