What is the status and merit of a co-corresponding author in a journal paper, especially in presence of corresponding author?

Traditionally, the first author of a co-authored work is usually considered as the major contributor, and the contributions of the other authors decrease by the listing order. In academic journals, the corresponding author, if different from the first author, is sometimes considered the lead contributor that will get the most credit from the work. In either case, the first author or the corresponding author is singular. But in recent years, there has been an emergent co-first author or co-corresponding author phenomenon in research. That is, more than one author will be indicated as the first or corresponding authors, each with equal contribution to the work.

Ghaffar Ali

Thank you, dear Hadeel Saleh.

James Kuake

Traditionally corresponding authors will be the single point of contact for all 'correspondence' (enquiries, discussions etc.) regarding the said work, hence the email and/or other forms of contact information shall be included in the manuscript. Hence by association, the author who made the most contribution to the work would also be the 'best' person to take up any enquiries/discussion regarding the work.

Hamza Khalil Alkhaddam

Dear Dr. Ghaffar Ali

Collaborative Writing has many advantages:

1. Knowledge and continuous learning from the group.

2. Good reputation

3. Credibility: Credibility in research when writing, reviewing and codifying more than one researcher is good. If they are three researchers, this is excellent. Four or more would be a good research project worth this number, and large projects would publish several papers for years and would be of great benefit to everyone.

In general, there is a big role for universities in promoting such an idea. Research published in the name of more than one researcher has an advantage over others if published in a strong and highly classified journal.

Concluding Note We need in the early stages of education to consolidate this culture so that we move from competition to cooperation in doing business to create a culture of cooperation among students.