Having more than one corresponding author like having more than one brain in the same head!

Corresponding author: identifies the person who sent the article, who took responsibility for the name of other authors and who signed the Copyright Transfer Form. Why there is a need to be more than one? In my opinion if there is more than one corresponding author it may create a trouble in the process.

Dear Dr. Ilhami Unluoglu, many thanks for your valuable submission. Sir, have you come across any published article with two corresponding authors?

Are some journals accepting corresponding author that is more than one? What would have occasioned a situation of having two corresponding authors for a published article?

Thank you for your anticipated expert responses.

I agree with Ahmed Y. Yassin

Dear Olutosin Ademola Otekunrin, I don't remember, but I may not have noticed. I'll pay attention to this. If I come accross such a situation(more than one corresponding author), I'll share it. But it still doesn't fit my opinion, as I had defined in my first answer.

I agree with Dr. Ilhami! Thank you.

Many thanks for your valuable views on this discussion- Drs. Hassan Izzeddin Sarsak, Ilhami Unluoglu and Shurooq Alshaibani.

Agreed with the members

I don't think i t is necessary to avoid confusion.

It is not necessary for all authors to be corresponding authors and hence one person is designated a the corresponding author with whom the editor communicates. However, the corresponding author need not be the primary author.

Hi Olutosin Ademola Otekunrin

Having more than one corresponding author is definitely possible. It only depends on the journal. In fact I have seen a paper with four corresponding authors. Only that it is just one who will be in charge of the submission and re-submission after revision process.

I think is possible to have more than one corresponding authors in an article or conference paper. I have done that in the past and the paper got published. I have also done that in recent past again, also it got published too... You may have a look at Article Effects of Quenchants on Impact Strength of Single-Vee Butt ...

I have not seen where there are two corresponding authors. If it happens, it will only create confusion.

In fact, why have two? One is enough.

As @deCandia, @Jumoke, for short term objectivity, No need to have more than one corresponding author. Especially in a student - Supervisors relationships. However, for long-term objectivity, YES, there is a need to have more than one corresponding authors. Often, research work has continuity and authors come and go from a lab. Having more than one corresponding authors will guarantee continuity of consultations and may even speed up correspondences in the event one author becomes unavailable.

Yes at @Omolayo. Meets short term objective of having a corresponding author - to sign copyright documents and submit articles to be published. For long-term purposes, authors may be requested to discuss or contribute issues related to the published article. In this case, there is definitely a need to have more than one corresponding authors. NB: Transfer of copyright to the publishing house does not, I think, transfer ownership of the ideas published in the article(s). Right?

Thank you so much dear respected senior colleagues for your enriching contributions on this discussion. I really appreciate you all for your time and interest.

Corresponding author is basically the one who has provided the basics and fundamental scientific idea of a paper. Then he/she will handle the supervision and finally submission of the paper and taking care of the reviews and comments. So, one paper needs one corresponding author! Otherwise, I think some issues might have been violated.

More than one corresponding author is possible. I think it depends on the journal. However, I think the existence of the expected mutual agreement among the authors would make more than one corresponding author unnecessary.

yes

Yes, it is possible but it depends on the policy of the journal.

Yes

Thank you so much for your valuable contributions to this discussion

Chirag D. Rabadia

Mohsin Talib Mohammed

Alaa M Hayallah

Stephen Adetunji

Seyed Hamid Ahmadi

Zaipuna Obedi Yonah

Gioacchino de Candia

Jumoke Soyemi

You're all appreciated

Yes it is possible to have two corresponding authors especially if the publication is the fruit of a collaboration between two laboratories where they have used highly specialized techniques to solve a problem

May thanks Prof. Jean-Pierre Jost for your valuable contribution to this discussion.

Many thanks @Sajda Taha Mahmood for your important contribution to this discussion.

In general, corresponding authorship isn't something unusual. However, there are some delicate moments here. A corresponding author coming from an organization which is in a certain known relationship, cooperation, information sharing, signed contractual research programs, and alike would be considered most likely as a natural team member.

Whereas a corresponding author coming from a totally independent, unrelated, and possibly competing organization having different research culture, overlapping research subject matters, far remotely located, and possibly from a foreign country could be considered as a problematic one. Also, the reputation and expertise domain of a potential corresponding author could either facilitate or complicate the decision making process.

I think one corresponding author would be adequate, as that individual would be held responsible for the publication in all aspects, though consent from all the contributing authors is mandatory.

Yes! It is possible to have more than one corresponding author but it depends on the journal. I really do not see the need for multiple corresponding authors but my attention was brought to some publications by an author. I could site some examples with the "Journal of Environmental Management" and "Journal of Molecular Liquids" for instance. I think the multidisciplinary expectations of authorship is the major driver for this, however, the revisions from reviewers' comments could be addressed by the different expert authors and submitted to a chosen corresponding author for submission. Multiple correspondence could bring in confusion and delay the review and/or editorial process. It is also frequently assumed that the submitting author is the one to correspond with, but it's not always the case. I sincerely do not think it is the right thing to do.

Some journal yes

Many thanks for your valuable contributions

@Len Leonid Mizrah

@Rekha Rani Koduganti

@Maurice Ekpenyong

@Zeyad Mohammad

Yes, it is possible,, but this is depends on your justification for the journal

Thank you dear @Ibrahim khider ibrahim and Maya Lambovska for your contributions.

I think there must be only one corresponding author for a particular published article who can take all kinds of responsibility for the same.

Yes, if journal's rules let you you can assign more than one corresponding author for your manuscript. It may be a good way to make sure you wont miss editorial massages during submission process. But nowadays it is not very common.

Reading through all the comments here, I agree that it's easier for the journal to correspond with same author each time to save time used during processing.

In addition, the term 'corresponding author' has to do with the channel of communication between the journal and the authors, this does not stop anyone from communicating with any of the authors after publication.

Any journal that can choose to communicate with any of the authors each time, probably will be too slow to remain relevant.

Many thanks for your invaluable contributions

@Mahesh Kumar

@Seyed Mohammad Sadegh Pezeshki

@Helen I Ajayi

I agree with Dr. Helen. The corresponding author is the mouthpiece for the other authors though all correspondence are relayed to them as well. It saves time and help in avoiding needless delays in the publication processes.

It may be possible. But I believe one corresponding author is ideal

following

If a journal give you the permission you can have more than one corresponding author. But in my opinion there should be only one corresponding author who is solely responsible for your article.

I think one is okay and other authors should be mailed in case the corresponding author is not responding to mail.

It is also to reflect on why this yearning for more than one corresponding author came up in the first place. In this era of teamwork and joint publication, some universities and research institutes are now awarding more credit for articles published to the corresponding author and first-named author in appraisal for promotion.This sometimes causes serious tussles among collaborating researchers. No wonder why COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) insists that authorship ought to be equated with requisite contributions to the publication in question.

Corresponding author, the person who took responsibility for the name of other authors and who signed the Copyright Transfer Form.

If there is more than one corresponding author it will create trouble in the process.

Some universities and research institutes are now awarding more credit for articles published to the corresponding author and first-named author in appraisal for promotion.

Many thanks @ Drs. Dickson Adom, Sajda Taha Mahmood, Augustine Senanu Kukah, M. Shahnawaz Khan, Peter Ayodeji Idowu, Victor Udemezue Onyebueke and Mohammed I. Rushdi for your valuable contributions on this discussion.

Yes, We can have one or more corresponding authors because the corresponding authors are responsible for handling the communications.

Thank you dear Dr. Zeyad Mohammad for your submission on this discussion.

I don't see why not?

No. Normally, only one corresponding author who may not necessarily be the lead author. Sometimes lead author and corresponding author is the same person

There should be only one to avoid confusion.

Many thanks dear Drs. Mirna Leko-Šimić, Borden Mushonga, Emmanuel Vijayanand Murray and Fazliddin Sodiqovich Jalilov for your valuable submissions on this discussion.

There wouldn't be any need to have more than one corresponding author looking at the role.

@ Olutosin Ademola Otekunrin

one corresponding author is enough to communicate with the editor and to prevent confusion.

Thank you Prof. Nirmala S.V.S.G for sharing your thought on this discussion.

one corresponding author is sufficient to transmit one main idea to the journal for each correction or suggestion.

Many thanks dear Dr. Latifa ZHOURI for your contribution to this discussion. You're most appreciated.

Yes.

It is possible, but according to certain regulations while preserving rights, which contributes to creating a beneficial scientific atmosphere

No. You can have only one corresponding author. I think no journal entertains two corresponding author@olutusin

It is possible, to have more than one corresponding author for one research article. it is quite common. One example: In papers, there are two authors, and both are corresponding authors! There are even papers with more than two corresponding authors.

Being the corresponding author does not primarily concern the journal publishing process. The role of the corresponding author is to handle communications with other researchers once the paper has been published, to respond to questions concerning the research as a whole, methods, results.

I think for having two (or more) corresponding authors is really very common practice, if the paper is submitted by a student (or post-doc) who is expected to leave the research group soon and may not be able to attend to the correspondence, reviewer queries, etc, particularly in case the review gets delayed. In these cases, it is customary for the adviser to add his/her name as the corresponding author.

But for submission and handling the manuscript throughout the review process until the publication step. It is handled only by a single corresponding author. But to enter more then one corresponding author means in near future if any query are needed then anyone can approach to more then one corresponding author and some time, one corresponding author has performed certain section and other have contributed other section in one script. So in such papers also you find more than one corresponding author.

There should be one corresponding author. Corresponding author is responsible for copyright transfer form and name of other authors. More than one corresponding author may create trouble.

Many thanks dear respected RG members for your views on this discussion. You're all acknowledged.

Yes, it is possible. But depends on the journals policy. If the software for submission do not aloow that, one may mail the editor and mostly it is allowed after that.

Dear Dr. Sumanta Chakraborty, I have seen articles with more than one corresponding authors. Thank you for your valuable comment.

I agree with prof. Ilhami Unluoglu and prof. Ahmed Y. Yassin. There must be one corresponding author.

Yes we can have more than one corresponding author

Many thanks dear respected RG members for the invaluable comments on this discussion.

Yes, we can have more than one corresponding author. but, it depends upon the journal's policy. The corresponding author takes the responsibility from submission to publication of the article. At the same time, he may get the major score for the publication, which will be useful for their academic growth. But, in the future, it will lead to conflictions, if more than one corresponding author.

Yes, not all journals will accept more one corresponding authors but some still welcome such. Many thanks dear respected RG members for the interesting contributions to this discussion.

Yes, it's allowed in many good journals. The same procedure is followed: "1st and 2nd authors equally contributed to this work".

More than one corresponding author may create trouble.

Thanks for the knowledge

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Some Journals allow more than one corresponding authors. That means in my opinion that you could address questions, ask protocols, ask additional information and you have more than one author to answer you. I see this sharing correspondence authorship as beneficial and fruitful

Best

It depends. Communication between a journals' editorial board and the authors team is to be well controlled and centralized to avoid duplications, mismanagement, and mistakes. It's a duty of a corresponding author to keep the team fully updated on incoming requests, and their collectively agreed reply. If that duty gets divided between a couple of people, it opens a possibility of characters and personalities mismatch, that could lead to issues within the team, and with the journal's board. I understand that it's more convenient for a journal to have a couple of corresponding authors, but usually it's not in the best interests of an authors team, and the organization they represent.

The corresponding author takes responsibility for the manuscript during the submission, peer review and production process. All communication from submission to publication will be with the corresponding author.

The corresponding author does not need to be the first author or a senior author. The order of authors can be arranged during the submission process, in whichever order suits but submissions must be made by the corresponding author and not on behalf of the corresponding author.

Articles can be published with more than one corresponding author, but only one can be accommodated by the Peer Review System. 

Yes, it is allowed. You can have more than one corresponding author for a particular/same published paper. Attached is an example.

Yes. Journals across some publishers such as hindawi, MDPI and PeerJ accept more than one corresponding author. I find this quite handy because in some instances the first correspondence maybe tied up and at least the review process can still be made to move on. In addition, have you ever thought about a corresponding author passing on (God forbid) when he/she's the only author the journal is in direct contact with. This can bring more problems, but recently journals capture the email addresses of all the authors who can be contacted Incase of any challenges with reaching the corresponding author (s)

We appreciate dear respected RG members for your valuable comments on this important discussion.

From my experience:

Yes, it is allowed in some journals but not in others.

It depends on the submission system the publisher uses.

So in some systems it is allowed to have more than one corresponding author, but in other systems it does not allow it.

Dear Remi Chukwudi Okeke,

There is always first, and then second corresponding author. The first corresponding author (mostly professor or most senior in the research team) communicates with the journal directly, and the second corresponding author (student or postdoctoral) will receive all forms of communication to his mail too. The decisions of the two authors will be communicated to the journal through the first corresponding author.

Any future enquiry, observation, or criticism on the research paper can be directed to either the first or second corresponding author, but the first corresponding author is the primary respondent.

Yes, I have seen some journal papers which have multiple corresponding authors but most of the journal support only single corresponding author.

The question is why two corresponding authors?! one is enough

Most of the journals accept only one corresponding author

I sincerely appreciate all RG members for the invaluable contributions on this discussion.

Yes. But not in all journals.

Yes