Authorship and Contributorship

Dampak follows COPE guidance and the four-part ICMJE test for authorship: only people who contributed substantially to the work, helped write or revise it, approved the final version and accept accountability for it are listed as authors; everyone else who helped is acknowledged.

1. Introduction

Dampak: Jurnal Teknik Lingkungan Universitas Andalas is committed to honest and transparent attribution of research. Authorship brings academic credit and public responsibility, so the author list of every article must show who actually did the work. This policy follows the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and applies to every manuscript submitted to or published in Dampak.

2. Description

Authorship means a substantial intellectual contribution to the research and the manuscript, together with accountability for the published work. Contributorship covers help that does not reach that level but still deserves recognition.

The following practices are prohibited:

  • Gift, guest or honorary authorship: listing someone who did not meet the criteria, for example because of seniority, position, friendship or to improve the manuscript's chances.
  • Ghost authorship: leaving out someone who met the criteria, or hiding undisclosed writing help.
  • Authorship for sale: buying, selling or brokering a place on an author list.
  • Listing a person as an author without their knowledge and consent.

3. Policy

3.1 Criteria for authorship

An author must meet all four of these criteria:

  1. A substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data.
  2. Drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
  3. Approval of the final version to be published.
  4. Agreement to be accountable for the accuracy and integrity of the work.

Authors must also follow the authorship rules of their institution and funder.

3.2 Who is an author and who is acknowledged

Contribution Credited as
A student who designed and carried out the study, including work reported from a thesis or dissertation Author, if the four criteria are met
A supervisor or advisor who shaped the design, analysis or interpretation and wrote or revised the manuscript Author. Supervision, funding or a senior position alone does not qualify.
A head of laboratory, department or institution who gave general support Acknowledgements
A technician, enumerator or field assistant who collected samples or data Acknowledgements, unless they also took part in design, analysis and writing and meet all four criteria
An agency, company or community partner that provided data, samples or site access Acknowledgements, with the partner's permission
A statistician or modeller who designed or ran the analysis and helped interpret it Author, if the four criteria are met
A language editor or proofreader Acknowledgements
A generative AI tool Never an author. Use is disclosed as set out in the AI Policy.

Contributors named in the Acknowledgements must have agreed to be named, and the corresponding author obtains that agreement. Sources of funding for the work are declared in the same section.

3.3 Order of authors

The order of authors is a joint decision of all co-authors. Dampak does not set it. Authors should agree on the order before submission and be ready to explain it, since the meaning of first and last position differs between fields. Dampak sets no maximum number of authors, but editors may ask for more information about each person's contribution when the number of authors seems out of proportion to the work.

3.4 Corresponding author

One author is designated as the corresponding author and supplies the email address published with the article. The corresponding author:

  • handles all communication with the journal during submission, review and publication;
  • confirms that all listed authors meet the criteria and have approved the manuscript and any revision;
  • keeps co-authors informed of decisions and of requests from the journal;
  • checks the authors' names, affiliations and conflict-of-interest disclosures;
  • answers questions and critiques about the work after publication.

Authors are encouraged to give an ORCID iD.

3.5 Author contributions statement

Each manuscript includes a statement that says what each author did. The CRediT roles may be used for this. The statement is checked by the corresponding author and published with the article.

3.6 Changes to the author list

Adding, removing or reordering authors is accepted only for clear and documented reasons and only with the agreement of all authors.

  • The corresponding author sends the request to the Editor-in-Chief, with the reason for the change and written confirmation (email or signed letter) from every author, including anyone added or removed.
  • The editors check that each listed and proposed author meets the criteria and that no one who qualifies has been left out.
  • After acceptance, changes are strongly discouraged and are allowed only in exceptional cases at the Editor-in-Chief's discretion. After publication a correction notice may be required.

4. How the policy is applied

4.1 Authorship declaration

When a manuscript is submitted, the corresponding author confirms that all authors meet the criteria, have approved the final manuscript and agree to its submission. All authors also sign the copyright transfer form. Dampak may ask for further information about authorship or individual contributions at any stage.

4.2 Authorship disputes

  • Prevention: agree on roles and order at the start of the project, review them if roles change, and keep a written record. This matters most where there is an imbalance of seniority, for example between a student and a supervisor.
  • Before publication: Dampak does not decide who deserves authorship. Authors settle the dispute among themselves or through their institutions, and the journal may suspend processing of the manuscript until they do.
  • After publication: a credible concern is handled under the Allegations of Misconduct policy, following COPE guidance. Dampak may contact the authors, ask their institutions to investigate, publish a correction or an expression of concern, or retract the article if misconduct is proven.

4.3 Responsibilities

Authors are jointly accountable for the integrity of the work and should be confident in their co-authors' contributions. Editors check author lists for signs of gift, ghost or purchased authorship, and a manuscript from an editor of the journal is handled under the Conflict of Interest policy. Reviewers tell the editor if they suspect an authorship problem.

4.4 Review of this policy

The editorial board reviews this policy at least once a year and updates it as COPE and ICMJE guidance change.

5. COPE resources and related policies