Authorship & Contributorship Policy

The purpose of this policy is to:

• Establish clear principles for authorship and contributorship.

• Ensure that individuals who make meaningful intellectual contributions receive appropriate recognition.

• Ensure that listed authors accept responsibility for their contributions to the work.

• Promote transparency regarding individual contributions.

• Prevent inappropriate authorship practices, including honorary, guest, gift, and ghost authorship.

• Provide a framework for handling authorship disputes and changes.

• Support accurate attribution across published works.

This policy applies, where applicable, to:

• Authored books

• Multi-author books

• Edited books and edited volumes

• Book chapters

• Conference proceedings and individual papers

• Research and academic publications

• Educational and professional publications

• Other publications involving multiple contributors

Specific authorship and contributor requirements may vary according to the type of publication and the applicable publishing agreement.

Authorship should generally be based on substantial intellectual or creative contribution to the work.

Depending on the nature of the publication, an author may have made significant contributions to areas such as:

• Conception or development of the work

• Research design or methodology

• Conduct of research or scholarly investigation

• Analysis or interpretation of information, data, or results

• Development of substantial original content

• Writing significant portions of the manuscript

• Substantial revision or critical intellectual improvement of the work

• Development of substantial creative content in creative publications

An individual should not be listed as an author solely because of their position, seniority, institutional affiliation, funding support, supervision, administrative role, or general assistance.

All listed authors are expected to:

• Contribute meaningfully to the work.

• Approve the version submitted for publication.

• Provide accurate information about their contribution.

• Take responsibility for their own contributions.

• Cooperate with reasonable editorial queries concerning their contribution.

• Disclose relevant conflicts of interest where applicable.

• Ensure that appropriate permissions are obtained for third-party material.

• Maintain the originality and integrity of their contribution.

• Notify SB Knowledge Press if a significant error or ethical concern is identified after publication.

For multi-author works, authors should communicate with one another throughout the preparation and submission process and agree on the final authorship list before submission.

Where a corresponding author is designated, that person acts as the principal communication contact between the authors and SB Knowledge Press.

The corresponding author is generally responsible for:

• Coordinating communication among the authors.

• Providing the final submission and required documentation.

• Confirming that all listed authors have approved the submission.

• Communicating authorship changes to the publisher.

• Responding to editorial and production queries.

• Coordinating corrections or clarifications involving authorship where necessary.

Designation as corresponding author does not necessarily mean that the individual made the largest contribution to the work.

For works involving multiple authors, the order of authors should be agreed upon by the authors before submission.

SB Knowledge Press generally does not determine the order of authors unless a specific publishing arrangement requires otherwise.

Authors should resolve questions concerning author order among themselves before submission.

Where appropriate, the publication may include an Author Contributions statement describing individual contributions.

For edited books and edited volumes, the roles of editors, chapter authors, and other contributors should be clearly identified.

Editors may be responsible for:

• Developing the overall concept and structure of the volume.

• Coordinating chapter submissions.

• Communicating with chapter authors.

• Managing editorial consistency.

• Reviewing and coordinating revisions.

• Preparing editorial introductions, conclusions, or related material.

Being an editor does not automatically make an individual the author of every chapter.

Chapter authors should be credited for their respective contributions.

For conference proceedings, authorship should normally reflect the individuals who made substantial contributions to the submitted paper or contribution.

Conference organizers, session chairs, institutional heads, supervisors, or other individuals should not automatically be listed as authors unless they have made an appropriate intellectual contribution.

Where conference-specific authorship requirements apply, those requirements should be communicated clearly to contributors.

Individuals who provide valuable assistance but do not meet the applicable criteria for authorship may be acknowledged appropriately.

Examples may include:

• Technical assistance

• Administrative support

• Language or copy-editing assistance

• Data collection support

• General supervision

• Funding or institutional support

• Research assistance that does not meet authorship criteria

• Other professional or logistical assistance

Acknowledgement should not be used as a substitute for authorship where an individual has made a substantial contribution that warrants authorship.

Individuals should normally be informed before their names are included in an acknowledgement.

SB Knowledge Press does not support inappropriate authorship practices.

Honorary, Guest or Gift Authorship

Individuals who have not made an appropriate contribution should not be listed as authors merely because of:

• Seniority

• Academic or professional position

• Institutional leadership

• Supervisory status

• Reputation

• Funding

• Personal or professional relationships

Ghost Authorship

An individual who has made a substantial contribution to the work should not be deliberately omitted from the author list in a manner that misrepresents the origin or responsibility for the work.

Authors should provide accurate and transparent attribution of significant contributions.

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission should be made only for legitimate reasons.

Any proposed change should normally include:

• A written explanation for the change.

• Agreement from all affected authors.

• Confirmation from the corresponding author.

• Any additional documentation reasonably requested by SB Knowledge Press.

SB Knowledge Press may pause editorial or production activity while an authorship matter is being clarified.

Changes requested after publication may require additional review and, where appropriate, a correction to the published record.

SB Knowledge Press encourages authors to resolve authorship disagreements directly and constructively whenever possible.

Where an authorship dispute cannot be resolved among the authors, the publisher may request relevant documentation and explanations.

SB Knowledge Press may seek clarification from the relevant institution, organization, conference committee, or other appropriate body where necessary.

The publisher may not be able to determine institutional or employment-related disputes independently and may defer such matters to the appropriate institution or authority.

For publications where contribution statements are appropriate, authors may be asked to provide a clear description of individual contributions.

Contribution statements may cover areas such as:

• Conceptualization

• Methodology

• Investigation

• Data collection

• Analysis

• Writing

• Editing

• Visualization

• Supervision

• Project administration

• Other substantial contributions

The contribution statement should accurately represent the work performed by each contributor.

Authors should provide accurate institutional affiliations at the time of submission.

Affiliations should not be used to imply authorship or endorsement where no such relationship exists.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that institutional names, departments, positions, and other affiliation information supplied to SB Knowledge Press are accurate.

Funding sources, institutional support, technical assistance, or other significant forms of support should be disclosed or acknowledged where appropriate.

Financial support alone does not normally constitute authorship.

Where funding arrangements create a potential conflict of interest, the applicable disclosure requirements should also be followed.

If an authorship error is identified after publication, SB Knowledge Press will consider appropriate corrective action based on the circumstances.

Possible actions may include:

• Correction of the author list.

• Correction of contributor information.

• Publication of an authorship correction notice.

• Updating relevant publication metadata where appropriate.

• Other post-publication action where necessary.

Such actions will be considered in accordance with the Corrections, Retractions & Post-Publication Policy.

This policy should be read together with the following SB Knowledge Press policies:

• Authorship & Contributorship Policy

• Conflict of Interest Policy

• Complaints & Appeals Policy

• Peer Review & Editorial Policy

• Research Integrity & Misconduct Policy

• Research Ethics & Ethical Oversight Policy

• Data Availability & Reproducibility Policy

• Copyright & Licensing Policy

• AI Use & Disclosure Policy

• Corrections, Retractions & Post-Publication Policy

These policies address specific areas in greater detail and should be applied according to the nature of the publication and circumstances involved. This policy structure broadly reflects the areas identified in established publication-ethics frameworks.

SB Knowledge Press may review and update this policy periodically to reflect developments in publishing ethics, research practices, technology, applicable requirements, and organizational procedures.

The version applicable to a particular publication or publishing agreement may depend on the terms communicated to the relevant parties.

Our Commitment

We believe that responsible publishing requires shared commitment from authors, editors, reviewers, institutions, and publishers. By maintaining clear ethical standards and responding appropriately to credible concerns, we aim to protect the quality and reliability of the publications we publish.