Authorship Criteria

The Journal of Medical Laboratory Science (JMLS) is committed to ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability in defining authorship across all submitted and published manuscripts. The journal adheres strictly to international ethical standards to prevent misrepresentation such as ghost authorship, gift/honorary authorship, or guest authorship.

  1. Criteria for Authorship (ICMJE Guidelines)

In accordance with the guidelines established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), any individual listed as an Author in a manuscript submitted to JMLS must meet all four of the following criteria cumulatively:

  1. Substantial Contribution: Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; OR the acquisition of biological specimens/laboratory data, execution of laboratory procedures, diagnostic testing, analysis, or interpretation of data.
  2. Drafting or Revising: Drafting the manuscript OR revising it critically for important intellectual content, laboratory methodologies, and clinical interpretations.
  3. Final Approval: Final approval of the version to be published.
  4. Accountability: Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy, integrity of laboratory data, or research ethics are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Important Note: Acquisition of funding, provision of general laboratory space/facilities, sample collection without intellectual analysis, or general supervision of a research group DOES NOT automatically justify authorship. Individuals fulfilling only these roles should be listed in the Acknowledgments section.

  1. Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT)

To promote transparency regarding individual contributions in medical laboratory research, JMLS requires authors to declare their specific roles using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) during submission.

Relevant CRediT roles include:

  • Conceptualization: Formulation or evolution of overarching research goals, hypotheses, or diagnostic aims.
  • Methodology: Development or design of laboratory methodology, validation of kits/assays, or protocol design.
  • Software: Programming, software development, or algorithmic design for bioinformatics or laboratory analytics.
  • Validation: Verification/reproducibility of assays, Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QC/QA) verification, and diagnostic validation.
  • Formal Analysis: Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyze or interpret laboratory diagnostic data.
  • Investigation: Conducting laboratory experiments, sample processing, diagnostic assay validation, and primary data collection.
  • Resources: Provision of study materials, specialized reagents, clinical/biological specimens, diagnostic instrumentation, or laboratory facilities.
  • Data Curation: Management, curation, and maintenance of laboratory research data.
  • Writing – Original Draft: Preparation, creation, and presentation of the initial manuscript draft.
  • Writing – Review & Editing: Critical review, commentary, or revision of the manuscript regarding methodology, results, and scientific content.
  • Visualization: Preparation and presentation of published data (e.g., graphs, microphotographs, diagnostic diagrams).
  • Supervision: Oversight and leadership responsibility for research planning and laboratory execution.
  • Project Administration: Management and coordination of the research activity planning and execution.
  • Funding Acquisition: Acquisition of the financial support leading to this publication.
  1. Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author

The Corresponding Author is the individual who takes primary responsibility for communication with the Editorial Office of JMLS during manuscript submission, peer review, and the publication process.

Key responsibilities include:

  1. Ensuring that all listed authors meet the 4 ICMJE authorship criteria.
  2. Verifying that no qualifying authors have been omitted (ghost authorship) and no non-qualifying individuals are included (gift/guest authorship).
  3. Confirming that all authors have read, approved the final version of the manuscript, and agreed to the order of author names.
  4. Ensuring that all ethical declarations (e.g., Institutional Review Board/Health Research Ethics Committee approvals, informed consent for clinical sample usage) are fully documented.
  5. Serving as the primary point of contact for scientific and public inquiries regarding laboratory methodology, data, and materials post-publication.
  1. Author Contribution Statement Template

All submitted manuscripts must include an Author Contribution Statement prior to the reference section.

Example Format for Manuscript Inclusion:

Author Contributions:

  • [Author Initials, e.g., A.B.]: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft, Funding Acquisition.
  • [Author Initials, e.g., C.D.]: Investigation, Laboratory testing, Validation, Data Curation.
  • [Author Initials, e.g., E.F.]: Formal Analysis, Software, Visualization, Writing – Review & Editing.
  • [Author Initials, e.g., G.H.]: Resources (sample collection), Supervision, Writing – Review & Editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
  1. Acknowledgments

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet all four ICMJE authorship criteria should be listed in the Acknowledgments section.

Examples of contributions acknowledged include:

  • Medical laboratory technicians/professionals who performed routine assays without intellectual input into study design or interpretation.
  • Clinical or nursing staff who assisted with patient specimen/sample collection.
  • Technical support, language editing, or administrative support.
  • Department heads or institutional leaders who provided general administrative or logistical support.

Authors must obtain written permission from all individuals named in the Acknowledgments section.

  1. Changes to Authorship

Any requests for additions, deletions, or rearrangements of author names after manuscript submission must be approved by all authors (including any author being added or removed). Requests must be submitted via a written declaration signed by all authors and sent to the Editor-in-Chief.

No changes to authorship will be permitted after the manuscript has been formally accepted for publication.