Many questions have arisen due to designation of the position of a corresponding authorship among;
1. the originator of the study (the owner of the concept),
2. the person who uploads the manuscript to the online submission site, or sends it to the journal for peer review, and
3. supervisor, who provides the intellectual input,
especially where these do not conform for one author. In this case, who is supposed to be designated an article corresponding author if three authors individually possesses each of these three roles (concept of a study, article process for publication and supervision).
Most frequently, assignation of one author as corresponding author is more of a working arrangement between the authors than of any hierarchy.
However, there are certain institutions that encourages their staff to be either first author or corresponding author, to be eligible for certain credits in promotion, etc. So, it is left to the judgement and or involvement or contribution of the authors to play the role of corresponding author.
Most frequently, assignation of one author as corresponding author is more of a working arrangement between the authors than of any hierarchy.
However, there are certain institutions that encourages their staff to be either first author or corresponding author, to be eligible for certain credits in promotion, etc. So, it is left to the judgement and or involvement or contribution of the authors to play the role of corresponding author.
Some research guides make sure before taking a student that in future joint publications the guide will be the corresponding author because it is needed for his/her promotion in the university.
Corresponding author traditionally first author of paper, write paper as per template, synchronise order of contributory authors, and submit relevant document to journal.
Academic assessment of corresponding author credit is more than contributory authors with respect to academic responsibility
To be honest, I have no idea in the age of information why it is not possible to include email details of all authors and even a researcher identifier to mitigate the issue of authors moving between institutes. The main author, who knows why they did the work and wrote the proposal may not know all the details of all the aspects of the work. All authors should be contactable. To say that the main author should be the permanent staff member is to perpetuate the pyramid scheme of science jobs. Ideally the corresponding author should be the person those whom the idea came, who designed the entire work and who manage the entire work flow. He or she should have taken the responsibility from A to Z for the project.
Theoretically, any of the author who can provide appropriate answers or satisfy the editor or reviewers can be the corresponding author. However, in a practical situation, faculty staff (supervisor) who offer guidance and bring grant (finance) to the research generally be a corresponding author.
t is important to acknowledge the people involved in compiling and writing your research. Indeed, many journals now require authors to acknowledge not only the authors who were involved in writing up the research, but also any individuals who contributed to the research in some way. These are referred to as authorship and contributorship.This is the author who is nominated as being:
- Responsible for the manuscript as it moves through the entire publication process
- The ‘time keeper’ during each phase of the publication process
- The primary contact between the journal and all the other authors of the paper
- Responsible for ensuring that all authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript prior to submission
- The person who uploads the manuscript to the online submission site, or sends it to the journal for peer review
- Distributes communications from the journal (e.g., decision letters, reviewers’ reports).
Nirmala S.V.S.G
thank you for this informative and useful comment.
Pankaj Tomar your added information which reads " Academic assessment of corresponding author credit is more than contributory authors with respect to academic responsibility " is very informative and succinct, and thus educative. Thank you greatly.
Abu-Hussein Muhamad this is the same with my thought which actually led to this question. I once suffered on an article and ensured it went through the whole tough and stressful reviewers, and my boss forced me to put his name as the Corresponding Author, even though I am not happy. This prompted the above-mentioned question that why is it not possible to include more than one author's name.
Your thought is as good as mine. Thank you for that excellent contribution.
Muhammad Saad Khan excellent comment filled with facts in reality.
Can we now say there is conflict of interest in that regard?
Corresponding author is the link between the researcher and committee evaluation.
I think someone who is available to respond on time to the need of reviewers/editors.
R.T Kamorudeen Fares F. Fares and Jasim Hassen thank you for the informative contributions.
Authorship is, or at least it might be, a rather sticky issue. The best time to define an authors responsibilities is before an article is written. Make sure everyone was going to contribute has defined roles and make sure that you haven't left anyone out should be acknowledged in the author chain. Sometimes a number gets to be too large and it may not be acceptable to the Journal to which you are submitting. In those cases it may be a matter of a recognition of some sort. If it can't be worked out in advance, it certainly is not going to get easier when an article is through 90% of the submission and review process and discover at that point that a specific author thinks that they should be recognized differently than another.
To great extent you probably need to have this worked out when you are applying for a position. If there is a directer of a line of research and you have applied to that individuals laboratory or clinical setting you should know upon application how publications are to be recognized. If you ask a point-blank question of the laboratory director how publications are to be arranged the answer to this question may well dictate whether or not you want to work and then laboratory. Remember you're going to get the best answer when you apply.
If you are working in a laboratory and you find that recognition for effort in publications is a an ongoing issue, it will probably never go away. In those situations it might be better to find a different laboratory. Sometimes it may not be the director of the laboratory the makes the decision, it could be the university or the hospital that decides. Regardless, you need to identify authorship before the projects begin. Although the best way to do that might be to have everyone sign off on the order before you start, this could be considered to be somewhat offensive. On the other hand if it is done this way every time it will probably be quite acceptable.
Steven E Eckert this is awesome, and succinctly explained which also covers beyond the boundary of the question for public digestion of all issues relating to authorship without limiting to correspondence alone. Thank you, Prof.
No 2 the person who uploads the manuscript to the online submission site, or sends it to the journal for peer review.
The ‘corresponding author’
This is the author who is nominated as being:
- Responsible for the manuscript as it moves through the entire publication process
- The ‘time keeper’ during each phase of the publication process
- The primary contact between the journal and all the other authors of the paper
- Responsible for ensuring that all authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript prior to submission
- The person who uploads the manuscript to the online submission site, or sends it to the journal for peer review
- Distributes communications from the journal (e.g., decision letters, reviewers’ reports).
Amal Saadoon Majeed well itemised and simplified. Kudos. Thank you very much.
Senior person in the research group / the most knowledgable scientist / head of the research team
The corresponding author is the link between the editorial evaluation process (submission, peer review, revisions etc) of a manuscript and its authors. Commonly the person who takes responsibility of this communication (not necessarily the senior-most or lead author) is the corresponding author.
In the present times, when multiple teams (scientists) collaborate to produce a research article, it is difficult for all to take responsibility of this communication. Hence, one of them takes this. This is a purely matter of convenience.
The listing of authors of a research contribution is on the other hand determined between authors either (a) by the order of reducing contribution of the individuals or (b) by the order of reducing contribution of the 'teams' of common affiliation.
I would not attribute any importance (in terms of the scientific contribution) beyond the above to the corresponding author.
In various research fields being the first author does not mean that one is the most important author. This is a matter of decision between team members, and collaborating author. There are fields , such as mathematics, that the order of authors is alphabetical. Sometimes a PhD student writes an article and collaborates with his adviser who puts his name as a first author, even though the student was the one who did most of the work.
I agree with Steven Eckert, this decision is discussed during the conceptualization of the paper. It could be any of the options mentioned by Kamoru.
Vivek S. Kale , Abu-Hussein Muhamad and Hussin Jose Hejase Profs, thank you all for those excellent contributions.
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