Publication Criteria and Authorship

Authorship and Publication Criteria

The Journal of Experimental and Clinical Anatomy (JECA) is committed to maintaining high standards of authorship integrity, transparency, and academic quality. All submitted manuscripts must meet the journal’s scientific, ethical, and editorial requirements before they can be considered for peer review and publication.

1. Authorship Criteria

JECA requires that all listed authors meet internationally accepted criteria for authorship. Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a substantial intellectual contribution to the work.

Each author should have made significant contributions to one or more of the following:

  • conception or design of the study;
  • acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
  • drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
  • approval of the final version to be published; and
  • agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All four conditions should be met for authorship, in line with ICMJE recommendations.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors but may be acknowledged appropriately, with their permission.

2. Responsibility of the Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is responsible for:

  • ensuring that all eligible contributors are included as authors;
  • ensuring that no inappropriate or honorary authors are listed;
  • obtaining the approval of all co-authors before submission;
  • ensuring that all authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript;
  • managing all communication with the journal during submission, peer review, and publication;
  • ensuring the accuracy of author information, affiliations, declarations, and contact details.

3. Authorship Transparency

Authors may be required to provide an Author Contributions Statement describing the specific contribution of each author to the work.

JECA reserves the right to request clarification regarding authorship roles at any stage of the editorial process.

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be supported by:

  • a written explanation for the change; and
  • written consent from all listed authors, including any author being added or removed.

The journal may decline authorship changes where concerns arise regarding authorship integrity.

4. Prohibited Authorship Practices

The following practices are not acceptable:

  • guest authorship or honorary authorship;
  • ghost authorship;
  • omission of eligible contributors;
  • false attribution of contributions;
  • listing artificial intelligence tools as authors.

Any concerns regarding authorship misconduct may be handled in accordance with JECA’s publication ethics procedures and COPE guidance.

5. Acknowledgements

Contributors who do not qualify for authorship but who provided support, such as technical assistance, administrative support, language editing, or general supervision, may be listed in the Acknowledgements section, provided they have agreed to be acknowledged.

Financial, institutional, or editorial assistance should also be disclosed appropriately.

6. Publication Criteria

To be considered for publication in JECA, a manuscript must:

  • fall within the aims and scope of the journal;
  • present original, scientifically sound, and ethically conducted work;
  • be written in clear and intelligible academic English;
  • demonstrate methodological rigor and appropriate analysis;
  • provide conclusions supported by the data;
  • comply with the journal’s formatting, reporting, and submission requirements;
  • include all required declarations, including ethics approval, informed consent, funding, conflict of interest, and data availability statements where applicable;
  • not have been published previously or be under consideration elsewhere.

Submission of a manuscript does not guarantee acceptance. All manuscripts are subject to editorial assessment and peer review.

7. Editorial Assessment of Reviews and Opinion Articles

JECA welcomes Review Articles and Opinion/Commentary Articles that are relevant to the field of experimental and clinical anatomy and that contribute meaningfully to scholarly discussion.

Such submissions must:

  • be academically rigorous and evidence-based;
  • provide a balanced and well-supported analysis of the topic;
  • be suitable for peer review;
  • fall within the scope of the journal.

The decision as to whether a submitted review or opinion manuscript is suitable for peer review and publication rests with the Editor-in-Chief and the editorial team.

8. Author Affiliation and Identity

Authors should provide their current institutional affiliation at the time the work was conducted or at the time of submission, as appropriate.

JECA may verify author identity, affiliation, and contact information where necessary for editorial or ethical reasons. Authors are encouraged to provide:

  • an institutional email address, where available;
  • an ORCID iD;
  • accurate institutional affiliation details.

The journal reserves the right to request clarification or verification of author information where concerns arise.

9. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Based Tools

JECA recognizes that authors may use artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools for limited purposes such as language improvement, grammar checking, formatting assistance, or literature organization. However, such tools must be used responsibly and transparently.

9.1 AI Tools Cannot Be Authors

AI tools, including large language models (LLMs), generative AI systems, and chatbots, must not be listed as authors because they cannot meet the requirements for authorship, including accountability, originality, and responsibility for the integrity of the work.

9.2 Author Responsibility

Authors remain fully responsible for:

  • the originality, accuracy, and validity of all content in the manuscript;
  • verifying the accuracy of any AI-assisted output;
  • ensuring that no fabricated, misleading, plagiarized, or copyrighted material is included;
  • ensuring that confidential or proprietary information is not improperly entered into AI systems.

9.3 Disclosure of AI Use

Where AI tools have been used in a meaningful way in the preparation of the manuscript, authors should disclose such use in the manuscript or cover letter, as required by journal policy.

AI tools should not be used to generate or manipulate scientific data, results, references, peer review content, or interpretations in a misleading manner.

10. Originality and Duplicate Submission

All manuscripts submitted to JECA must be original and must not be under consideration elsewhere.

The journal does not accept:

  • duplicate submission;
  • redundant publication;
  • plagiarism;
  • falsified or fabricated content;
  • manipulated images or data.

JECA may use similarity detection tools and other editorial checks to assess originality and integrity.

11. Ethical and Reporting Compliance

Authors must ensure that their work complies with JECA’s policies on:

  • research ethics;
  • informed consent;
  • human and animal rights;
  • conflict of interest;
  • data sharing and availability;
  • privacy and confidentiality;
  • publication ethics and misconduct.

Where applicable, authors should also follow recognized reporting guidelines such as CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, CARE, or ARRIVE.

12. Editorial Decision-Making

All manuscripts are subject to editorial screening and peer review. Editorial decisions are based on the manuscript’s scientific quality, originality, clarity, ethical compliance, relevance to the journal, and peer reviewer feedback.

The Editor-in-Chief and Editors retain full discretion over editorial decisions.