UTJES follows the authorship criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), adapted for engineering and applied sciences research, to ensure fair and transparent attribution of credit and responsibility.

1. Criteria for authorship

To qualify as an author, an individual must meet all four of the following criteria:

1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
3. Final approval of the version to be published;
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should not be listed as authors but may be acknowledged (see Section 4).

2. Corresponding author responsibilities

The corresponding author:

• Ensures that all listed authors meet the authorship criteria above
• Ensures that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript before submission
• Serves as the primary point of contact with the Editorial Office during submission, review, and post-publication
• Is responsible for communicating with co-authors regarding revisions, decisions, and proofs
• Manages disclosure of conflicts of interest and confirms authorship order on behalf of all authors

3. Changes to authorship

Any changes to authorship (addition, removal, or reordering of authors) after initial submission must be:

• Requested in writing to the Editorial Office
• Approved by all listed authors, including any author being removed
• Accompanied by a clear justification for the change

Changes to authorship after acceptance or publication require a formal correction/erratum and are subject to Editor-in-Chief approval, in line with COPE guidelines on authorship disputes.

4. Acknowledgements (non-author contributors)

Contributors who do not meet the full authorship criteria — such as those who provided technical assistance, writing assistance, general supervision, proofreading, or acquired funding without contributing to the intellectual content — should be listed in the Acknowledgements section, with their consent, rather than as authors.

5. Group and collaborative authorship

For large-scale or multi-institutional projects, group authorship is permitted, provided:

• All individual members meeting the authorship criteria are named
• A group name and list of members is included in the manuscript or as supplementary material
• One or more individuals are designated as guarantors for the group

6. Authorship disputes

Disputes regarding authorship are the responsibility of the authors and their institutions to resolve. UTJES does not adjudicate authorship disputes but may, in line with COPE guidance:

• Request written confirmation of agreement from all parties before proceeding with review or publication
• Suspend processing of the manuscript until the dispute is resolved
• Add an editorial note or correction if a dispute arises post-publication

7. Use of AI and AI-assisted technologies

AI and AI-assisted technologies (e.g., large language models) do not qualify as authors, as they cannot take responsibility or be held accountable for the submitted work. Authors who use such tools in the writing process must disclose this in the Methods or Acknowledgements section, specifying the tool used and its purpose.

8. Ghost and guest authorship

Ghost authorship (omitting individuals who meet authorship criteria) and guest/honorary authorship (including individuals who do not meet authorship criteria) are considered violations of research integrity and will be handled according to UTJES's Research Misconduct and COPE guidelines.