Vokatek: Journal of Research and Community Service (Vokatek) recognizes authorship as an essential element of academic integrity, reflecting the intellectual contributions, responsibilities, and accountability of individuals involved in scholarly research. To ensure fairness, transparency, and ethical publication practices, Vokatek establishes clear criteria for determining authorship, acknowledging individual contributions, and managing authorship-related matters. This policy is guided by the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applies to all manuscripts submitted to and published in the journal.

1. General Principles

Vokatek: Journal of Research and Community Service (Vokatek) is committed to ensuring transparency, accountability, and integrity in scholarly authorship. Authorship must accurately reflect the intellectual contributions of individuals involved in the conception, execution, analysis, and reporting of scientific research.

All individuals listed as authors must have made substantial scholarly contributions and must accept responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the published work. The journal requires clear identification of author contributions to prevent inappropriate authorship practices and promote responsible scientific collaboration.

Authorship decisions should be discussed and agreed upon by all contributors before manuscript submission. Any disagreements concerning authorship should be resolved transparently and in accordance with recognized publication ethics standards.

2. Authorship Criteria

Vokatek adopts the four authorship criteria recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). To qualify as an author, an individual must meet all four of the following requirements:

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

2. Manuscript Preparation: Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically reviewing its important intellectual content.

3. Final Approval: Review and approve the final version of the manuscript before publication.

4. Accountability: Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work and ensure that questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of any part of the research are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals meeting these four criteria must be recognized as authors. Contributors who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged appropriately rather than included in the author list.

3. Author Contributions

Vokatek requires authors to provide a transparent Author Contribution Statement describing the specific intellectual and scientific responsibilities undertaken by each author.

Author contributions may be identified using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), including:

• Conceptualization

• Methodology

• Software

• Validation

• Formal Analysis

• Investigation

• Resources

• Data Curation

• Writing – Original Draft Preparation

• Writing – Review and Editing

• Visualization

• Supervision

• Project Administration

• Funding Acquisition

The contribution statement must accurately reflect the work performed by each author and must be approved by all co-authors.

Contributors must not be assigned roles they did not perform. Similarly, individuals who have made qualifying intellectual contributions must not be intentionally excluded from authorship.

4. Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the authors and Vokatek editorial office throughout the submission, peer-review, publication, and post-publication processes.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

1. Ensuring that all listed authors meet the established authorship criteria.

2. Confirming that all authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript and its submission.

3. Providing accurate author names, institutional affiliations, email addresses, and ORCID identifiers.

4. Ensuring that required ethical approvals, funding disclosures, and conflict-of-interest statements are provided.

5. Communicating editorial decisions, reviewer comments, and revision requirements to all co-authors.

6. Ensuring that all authors approve the final manuscript before publication.

7. Responding to post-publication inquiries regarding the accuracy, integrity, or interpretation of the research.

A primary corresponding author must be clearly identified in the journal's submission system. Requests to designate additional co-corresponding authors in the published manuscript may be considered subject to editorial approval.

5. Authorship Changes

Any request to modify authorship after manuscript submission must be supported by a clear explanation and written agreement from all affected authors.

Authorship changes include:

• Adding a new author.

• Removing an existing author.

• Changing the order of authors.

• Changing the corresponding author.

Such requests must be submitted to the editorial office before publication whenever possible.

Authorship changes after acceptance or publication will be considered only when supported by sufficient evidence and a legitimate justification.

The editorial team reserves the right to request additional documentation and may refer unresolved disputes to the relevant authors' institutions. The journal does not independently determine the rightful ownership of disputed authorship contributions.

6. Unacceptable Authorship Practices

Vokatek strictly prohibits inappropriate authorship practices that undermine transparency and research integrity.

These include:

Gift Authorship: Including an individual as an author without a qualifying intellectual contribution.

Honorary Authorship: Granting authorship based solely on academic position, professional status, or institutional authority.

Guest Authorship: Adding an individual primarily to increase the perceived credibility or likelihood of acceptance of a manuscript.

Ghost Authorship: Omitting individuals who have made qualifying intellectual contributions to the research or manuscript.

Authorship Manipulation: Deliberately misrepresenting author contributions, identities, affiliations, or the agreed author order.

Providing funding, general supervision, administrative assistance, technical editing, translation, or proofreading alone does not automatically qualify an individual for authorship.

Individuals who contribute meaningfully but do not satisfy all authorship criteria should be recognized in the Acknowledgments section, with their permission.

7. Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Artificial intelligence systems, including generative AI tools and large language models, cannot be recognized as authors or co-authors of manuscripts submitted to Vokatek.

AI technologies cannot independently fulfill the ethical responsibilities associated with authorship, including accountability, approval of final publication, and responsibility for research integrity.

Authors who use AI-assisted technologies during manuscript preparation must transparently disclose their use in accordance with the journal's applicable policies.

Human authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, scientific validity, and ethical compliance of all AI-assisted content.

8. Author Identification and Accountability

Vokatek requires all authors to provide accurate institutional affiliations and valid ORCID identifiers to support reliable author identification and scholarly attribution.

Every author must approve the final version of the manuscript and cooperate with editorial inquiries concerning research integrity, corrections, or post-publication concerns.

Any suspected violation of authorship ethics, including falsified contributions, unauthorized authorship changes, or deliberate misrepresentation, will be evaluated in accordance with COPE guidance and the journal's Publication Ethics and Misconduct Policy.

When necessary, the editorial team may request clarification, supporting documentation, or institutional investigation before determining an appropriate editorial response.

9. Compliance and Enforcement

Compliance with this Authorship Criteria and Contributorship Policy is mandatory for all manuscripts submitted to Vokatek.

Failure to comply may result in requests for clarification, manuscript rejection, suspension of editorial processing, or appropriate post-publication corrective action.

The editorial team will evaluate potential violations based on available evidence and established publication ethics standards.

Vokatek is committed to maintaining fairness, transparency, academic accountability, and the integrity of the scholarly record throughout the publication process.