Authorship Criteria

MEDICA (International Medical Scientific Journal) is committed to upholding transparency, accountability, ethical conduct, and integrity in scholarly authorship. The journal follows internationally recognized principles of responsible authorship to ensure that authorship accurately reflects the intellectual contributions of individuals involved in medical and health sciences research.

Authorship must be based on substantial intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript preparation. All individuals listed as authors must meet the following criteria:

1. Substantial Contributions: Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the study, data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of research findings.

2. Manuscript Preparation: Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.

3. Final Approval: Approve the final version of the manuscript before submission and agree to its publication.

4. Accountability and Integrity: Agree to be accountable for their contributions and to ensure that questions concerning the accuracy, validity, or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Author Contributions

All authors are required to clearly describe their individual contributions to the research and manuscript. MEDICA encourages the use of the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to identify specific roles, such as conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data curation, formal analysis, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, supervision, and project administration, where applicable.

Corresponding Author

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the authors and the editorial office throughout the submission, peer-review, revision, and publication processes. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript, agreed to the author list and order, and consented to the final version before publication. The corresponding author must also ensure that all relevant ethical declarations and submission requirements are fulfilled.

Changes in Authorship

Any addition, removal, or rearrangement of authors after manuscript submission must be accompanied by a clear written justification and the written agreement of all affected authors, including those being added or removed. Such changes are subject to review and approval by the Editorial Board. Changes in authorship will not be accepted solely for reasons unrelated to genuine scholarly contributions.

Acknowledgments

Individuals who contribute to the research but do not meet the authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately in the Acknowledgments section, with their permission. Examples may include technical assistance, administrative support, language editing, or other contributions that do not constitute substantial intellectual involvement. Acknowledgment must not be used as a substitute for authorship or to imply endorsement without consent.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including generative AI systems, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and accountability of scholarly work. Authors who use AI tools in preparing a manuscript must ensure that the use of such tools complies with the journal's publication policies and applicable ethical standards.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, validity, and integrity of all content, including AI-assisted content. Any use of AI that materially contributes to manuscript preparation, data analysis, image generation, or other aspects of the research must be transparently disclosed when required by the journal's policies. AI tools must not be used to fabricate or falsify data, generate misleading research findings, or create citations and references that have not been verified.

MEDICA reserves the right to request clarification regarding authorship, author contributions, and the use of AI tools whenever necessary to safeguard publication ethics and scientific integrity.