First published: November 27, 2024

Last Updated: November 27, 2024

Responsibilities of first author, corresponding author, and other authors

The first author and corresponding author of a manuscript are the main persons responsible for the authenticity and reliability of the manuscript. The other authors of the manuscript are responsible for the content of the parts that they completed or participated in. The head of the research team of the authors is responsible for the traceability of the data involved in the manuscript.

The detailed responsibilities of the first author, corresponding author, and other authors are as follows:

1 Responsibilities of the first author

The first author is usually the main contributor to a manuscript. The responsibilities of the first author include: (1) Making significant, original, and insightful intellectual contributions to the manuscript; (2) Participating in the conception or planning of the research in the manuscript; (3) Obtaining manuscript data by conducting experiments, performing literature reviews, or carrying out surveys or interviews; (4) Analyzing the findings of the manuscript through statistical analysis and preparing figures and/or tables; (5) Planning and writing the manuscript; and (6) Participating in responding to reviewers’ comments and manuscript revision after manuscript submission.

2 Responsibilities of the corresponding author

The corresponding author is responsible for submitting all necessary documents and materials to the journal editorial office, complying with all ethical and legal obligations, and ensuring that all co-authors are aware of the manuscript’s status and any updates that may arise. The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal editorial office during submission, peer review, copyright agreement signing, and throughout the entire publication process. The corresponding author's responsibilities in the pre- and post-publication processes of the manuscript are as follows:

2.1 Pre-publication: (1) Prepare a submission-ready manuscript with all necessary auxiliary files; (2) Put together a submission package, stay in close contact with the publisher, follow time schedules; (3) Ensure accuracy of authorship details, have all authors review and approve the final version, obtain signed consents; (4) Ensure that each author signs the copyright agreement; (5) Obtain permissions for the use of copyrighted materials, follow all editorial and submission policies, adhere to ethical practices and guidelines; and (6) Manage open access details, handle the payment and invoicing, meet specific institutional or funder requirements, add the article to a repository.

2.2 Post-publication: (1) Forward readers' scientific questions to the co-authors, reply with the collective response; (2) Manage requests for data sharing; and (3) Represent co-authors in copyright-related questions.

3 Responsibilities of the other authors

The other authors are first and foremost responsible for the finalization of the content of the parts that they completed or participated in. In particular, the main responsibilities of the other authors include: (1) Verifying the correctness of the content of the parts involving them in each iteration of the revised manuscript; (2) Verifying the correctness of their name and initials; (3) Verifying the correctness of their affiliations; and (4) Verifying the correctness of the PDF full text, figures, tables, and references in the manuscript.