Authorship & Contributorship

ETERNAL – English, Teaching, Learning and Research recognizes authorship as both a form of scholarly credit and a responsibility for the integrity of published work. Authorship should accurately reflect substantial intellectual contributions to a manuscript, while other meaningful contributions should be transparently acknowledged.

ETERNAL expects authors to determine authorship and contributorship fairly before submission and to ensure that all information provided to the journal is accurate, complete, and consistent with the actual contributions made to the research and manuscript.

To promote transparency in scholarly attribution, ETERNAL uses the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to describe individual contributions to research and publication. CRediT provides a standardized vocabulary of 14 contributor roles and is intended to complement, rather than replace, the journal's authorship criteria.

1. Criteria for Authorship

An individual should be listed as an author only when they have made substantial intellectual contributions to the work and have participated sufficiently in the preparation, approval, and accountability processes associated with the manuscript.

ETERNAL considers authorship appropriate when an individual:

has made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the study, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
has contributed to drafting the manuscript or critically reviewing it for important intellectual content;
has approved the final version of the manuscript for publication; and
agrees to be accountable for the work and to help ensure that questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All four conditions should be satisfied for authorship.

Individuals should not be listed as authors merely because of:

academic rank or seniority;
institutional position;
supervisory authority;
departmental or institutional affiliation;
provision of funding alone;
administrative support;
general mentorship;
access to research facilities or participants; or
participation in the research project without a qualifying intellectual contribution.

Authorship should reflect substantive intellectual contribution, participation in manuscript development, approval, and accountability.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

Authorship carries both credit and responsibility. All listed authors share responsibility for the integrity of the work, although individual responsibilities may differ according to their contributions.

Each author should:

make a genuine and identifiable contribution to the research or manuscript;
understand the contribution made by the other authors;
participate in drafting or critically revising the manuscript;
review and approve the final version;
agree with the submitted authorship information and author order;
disclose relevant competing interests;
comply with the journal's research ethics and publication policies;
ensure that the work is original and appropriately referenced;
disclose relevant use of artificial intelligence in accordance with ETERNAL's AI Use & Disclosure policy; and
cooperate with the journal if questions arise concerning the accuracy, integrity, ethics, or authorship of the published work.

Authors should have sufficient confidence in the integrity of the work to accept collective responsibility for the publication.

3. Contributorship

Authorship alone does not fully communicate how a research project was conducted. ETERNAL therefore encourages transparent reporting of individual contributions.

A contribution statement should identify who contributed what to the research and manuscript. Contributions may include:

conceptualization;
methodology;
investigation or data collection;
formal analysis;
validation;
data curation;
software;
resources;
visualization;
writing – original draft;
writing – review and editing;
supervision;
project administration; and
funding acquisition.

ETERNAL uses the CRediT taxonomy as its standardized framework for reporting these contributions. CRediT currently comprises 14 roles covering the principal types of contribution to research outputs.

A single author may have several CRediT roles, and the same role may be assigned to more than one author. Roles that do not apply to a particular study should simply be omitted.

4. CRediT Contributor Roles

The following CRediT roles may be used in ETERNAL contribution statements:

CRediT Role	Description
Conceptualization	Development and formulation of the overarching research ideas, aims, questions, or goals.
Methodology	Development or design of the research methodology, methods, models, or analytical approach.
Software	Programming, software development, coding, implementation, or testing of software used in the research.
Validation	Verification of the reliability, accuracy, reproducibility, or robustness of the research process or findings.
Formal Analysis	Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, qualitative, or other formal analytical techniques.
Investigation	Conducting the research process, including data or evidence collection and implementation of the study.
Resources	Provision of research materials, participants, datasets, facilities, instruments, technological resources, or other research resources.
Data Curation	Organization, cleaning, annotation, documentation, management, and maintenance of research data for current or future use.
Writing – Original Draft	Preparation and writing of the initial manuscript or substantive sections of the manuscript.
Writing – Review & Editing	Critical review, revision, editing, commentary, and substantive improvement of the manuscript.
Visualization	Preparation, creation, or presentation of figures, tables, diagrams, models, or other visual representations of the research.
Supervision	Oversight and leadership of the research activity, including mentoring and research supervision.
Project Administration	Coordination and management of the research project and its associated activities.
Funding Acquisition	Acquisition of financial support for the research leading to the publication.

These role descriptions follow the CRediT taxonomy maintained by NISO.

5. CRediT Does Not Determine Authorship

CRediT should not be used as a mechanical test for determining who qualifies as an author.

A CRediT role describes an individual's contribution to the research output; it does not, by itself, establish authorship. The determination of authorship remains governed by ETERNAL's authorship criteria.

For example, an individual who provided Resources or Funding Acquisition alone would not automatically qualify for authorship. Similarly, a person who provided technical assistance may have made a genuine contribution without meeting the journal's authorship requirements.

Conversely, a researcher who satisfies the journal's authorship criteria may legitimately have several CRediT roles.

Thus:

Authorship answers: “Who is responsible as an author?”
CRediT answers: “What did each contributor do?”

This distinction is central to ETERNAL's approach to transparent authorship. CRediT itself states that its taxonomy is designed to describe contributions and is not intended to define authorship.

6. Contribution Statement at Submission

ETERNAL requires a CRediT Contribution Statement for manuscripts with more than one author and may request one for single-author manuscripts where clarification of contributions is relevant.

The corresponding author should provide the contribution statement during submission and confirm that it accurately represents the contributions of all authors and contributors.

Authors should discuss and agree upon their contributions before submission. The corresponding author should coordinate the assignment of CRediT roles and ensure that all authors have an opportunity to review and confirm the statement. This approach is consistent with recommended CRediT implementation practices.

7. CRediT Contribution Statement Template

Authors may use the following format:

Author Contributions

[Full Name of Author 1]: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal Analysis, Writing – Original Draft.
[Full Name of Author 2]: Investigation, Data Curation, Visualization, Writing – Review & Editing.
[Full Name of Author 3]: Validation, Supervision, Project Administration, Writing – Review & Editing.
[Full Name of Author 4]: Resources, Funding Acquisition, Writing – Review & Editing.

Authors should include only roles that accurately represent the actual contributions of each individual.

Example: Two-Author Empirical Study

Author Contributions

Siti Rahma: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal Analysis, Data Curation, Writing – Original Draft.
Ahmad Fauzi: Validation, Supervision, Writing – Review & Editing, Project Administration.

Example: Three-Author Qualitative Study

Author Contributions

Author 1: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Writing – Original Draft.
Author 2: Investigation, Validation, Writing – Review & Editing.
Author 3: Supervision, Project Administration, Writing – Review & Editing.

8. Degree of Contribution

Where several authors perform the same CRediT role, authors may optionally indicate the degree of contribution using terms such as:

Lead
Equal
Supporting

For example:

Conceptualization: Author 1 (Lead), Author 2 (Supporting)
Writing – Review & Editing: Author 1 (Equal), Author 2 (Equal), Author 3 (Supporting)

ETERNAL does not require authors to assign a degree of contribution unless such information is requested during submission or editorial assessment. The CRediT framework allows such distinctions, but they are optional rather than part of the core 14-role taxonomy.

9. Contributors Who Are Not Authors

Individuals who contribute to a study but do not satisfy all authorship criteria should not be listed as authors merely to acknowledge their participation.

Examples may include individuals who provide:

general administrative assistance;
technical support;
routine data collection without substantive intellectual contribution;
language editing or proofreading;
access to facilities or institutional resources;
general supervision without substantive intellectual contribution; or
other limited forms of assistance.

Where appropriate, these contributions may be recognized in the Acknowledgements section.

Where contributors are named in the Acknowledgements, authors should obtain their permission before publication.

ETERNAL may also encourage authors to use CRediT terminology to describe substantial contributions from non-author contributors where appropriate. CRediT can be used beyond formal authorship to provide greater transparency about the people involved in producing a research output.

10. Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is responsible for communication between the author group and ETERNAL throughout submission, peer review, revision, and publication.

The corresponding author should:

ensure that all authors have approved the submitted manuscript;
provide accurate author names, affiliations, and contact information;
ensure that authorship and CRediT information are complete and accurate;
ensure that required declarations are submitted;
communicate editorial decisions and requests to the other authors;
coordinate responses to reviewers;
ensure that revisions are approved by the author group;
coordinate any changes in authorship or contributorship; and
remain available after publication to respond to reasonable questions concerning the article.

The corresponding author does not necessarily have to be the first or senior author. The designation should be agreed upon by all authors.

11. Order of Authors

The order of authors should be determined collectively by the authors and should reflect their agreed scholarly contributions and disciplinary conventions.

ETERNAL does not normally determine author order.

Authors should establish author order before submission whenever possible. The order should not be changed during peer review simply to reflect a change in seniority, institutional position, or personal preference.

Where an author-order dispute occurs, the journal may request that the authors resolve the matter through their institution or research organization.

12. Authorship Changes After Submission

Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be accompanied by a clear explanation and appropriate confirmation from all affected authors.

ETERNAL may require:

a written explanation of the proposed change;
confirmation from all existing authors;
confirmation from any author being added or removed;
an updated authorship declaration;
an updated CRediT contribution statement; and
supporting documentation where necessary.

The journal may suspend editorial processing until the authorship matter has been resolved.

Authorship changes after acceptance or publication will normally be considered only in exceptional circumstances and must be supported by appropriate documentation.

The journal will not approve an authorship change solely on the request of one author without appropriate confirmation from the other affected authors.

COPE recommends clear processes for handling requests to add or remove authors and indicates that unresolved authorship issues may justify delaying review or production until the matter has been satisfactorily resolved.

13. Authorship Disputes

ETERNAL does not normally act as the primary investigator or arbitrator of disputes concerning authorship, contribution, or author order.

When authors cannot reach agreement, the journal may request that the matter be addressed through the relevant institution, research organization, or other appropriate authority.

The journal may suspend consideration, review, acceptance, or publication until the dispute has been appropriately addressed.

Where there is credible evidence of authorship misconduct, the matter may also be handled as a research or publication integrity concern.

14. Guest, Gift, and Ghost Authorship

ETERNAL does not support:

guest or gift authorship, in which an individual is listed as an author despite not meeting the authorship criteria; or
ghost authorship, in which an individual who made a substantial contribution is omitted from the author list.

Authorship should reflect actual scholarly contribution and responsibility for the published work.

Academic position, institutional status, supervisory authority, financial support, or professional seniority alone does not establish entitlement to authorship.

ETERNAL may review unusual authorship patterns or contribution statements when they raise reasonable concerns about inappropriate authorship practices. COPE identifies guest, gift, and ghost authorship as potential authorship problems requiring editorial attention.

15. Local and Collaborative Researchers

ETERNAL encourages fair recognition of researchers who make substantial contributions to studies conducted across institutions, countries, communities, or educational contexts.

Researchers should not be excluded from authorship merely because of their institutional location, geographical context, career stage, or academic status when they meet the journal's authorship criteria.

For collaborative and multi-institutional research, authorship and CRediT roles should be discussed and agreed upon as early as possible in the research process.

16. Group and Multi-Author Research

For research conducted by large teams, research groups, or multi-institutional collaborations, authorship should be determined before manuscript submission whenever possible.

All individuals listed as authors must satisfy ETERNAL's authorship criteria and accept responsibility for the published work.

Where a research group, consortium, or collaborative project is named, the corresponding author should clearly identify the individuals who qualify as authors and provide appropriate contribution information.

CRediT is particularly useful in collaborative research because multiple contributors may perform different roles, and one individual may legitimately hold several roles.

17. Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including generative AI systems and large language models, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

AI tools cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, originality, ethical conduct, or accountability required of an author.

Authors remain fully responsible for all content submitted to ETERNAL, including content produced or assisted by AI.

Where AI-assisted technologies have been used in preparing a manuscript, authors must follow ETERNAL's AI Use & Disclosure policy and disclose the nature and extent of that use where required.

AI-assisted tools should not be assigned CRediT roles as if they were human contributors. The human authors remain responsible for the research, interpretation, manuscript, and all claims presented in the publication.

18. Authorship and CRediT Declaration

At submission, the corresponding author must confirm that:

all listed authors meet ETERNAL's authorship criteria;
all individuals who meet the criteria have been appropriately included;
all authors have approved the submitted manuscript;
the author order has been agreed upon by all authors;
the CRediT statement accurately reflects the actual contributions;
no qualified contributor has been intentionally excluded;
no individual has been included solely because of academic position, seniority, supervision, funding, or institutional affiliation; and
any authorship or contributorship issue has been disclosed to the journal.

The journal may request clarification or supporting documentation when the authorship or contribution statement appears inconsistent with the manuscript or research process.

19. Post-Publication Authorship Concerns

If an authorship or contributorship concern is raised after publication, ETERNAL may review the available documentation and contact the authors or relevant institutions where appropriate.

Where a confirmed authorship or contribution error affects the accuracy of the scholarly record, the journal may publish an appropriate correction or other post-publication notice in accordance with its Corrections & Retractions policy.

Where necessary, the published CRediT statement may also be corrected to accurately reflect the contributions of the authors.

20. Editorial Independence

Editors and reviewers should not request authorship in exchange for editorial assistance, peer review, acceptance, publication, or other editorial services.

Editorial position, institutional affiliation, professional status, or supervisory authority does not provide an entitlement to authorship.

Editors who have a personal, professional, or other conflict of interest concerning authorship should disclose the conflict and, where appropriate, another editor should handle the matter independently.

21. Transparency and Accountability

ETERNAL regards transparent authorship and contributorship as an important component of research integrity.

The journal therefore encourages authors to discuss contributions early, document contributions throughout the research process, and verify the final contribution statement before submission.

The purpose of the policy is not simply to regulate the number or order of authors. It is to ensure that the published record accurately communicates:

who contributed to the research, what each person contributed, who accepts authorship responsibility, and how scholarly credit is attributed.

22. Contact

Questions or concerns regarding authorship, contributorship, CRediT statements, or author-order issues should be submitted through the journal's official editorial contact channel.

Correspondence should clearly identify the manuscript and describe the nature of the authorship or contributorship concern.

ETERNAL is committed to ensuring that authorship reflects fair credit, meaningful contribution, transparency, and accountability in scholarly publishing.