Authorship Criteria

SAPS follows the authorship guidelines recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) to ensure integrity, accountability, and transparency in scientific publishing. Authorship implies significant intellectual contribution and responsibility for the published work. Only individuals who meet all four criteria listed below are eligible to be listed as authors.

ICMJE-Based Authorship Criteria
To qualify for authorship, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:
1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work
2. Drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content
3. Final approval of the version to be published
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Contributors Who Do Not Qualify for Authorship
Individuals who do not meet all four criteria above but have made non-author-level contributions should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section. Examples include:
• Providing technical or statistical assistance
• Providing general supervision or administrative support
• Acquiring funding
• Proofreading or editing for grammar or formatting
• Assisting with data collection without intellectual input

Changes to Authorship After Submission
• Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after manuscript submission or acceptance must be made by the corresponding author and must include:
      • A clear reason for the change
      • Written confirmation (email or signed letter) from all authors (including those being added/removed) approving the change
• Authorship changes will not be permitted after the manuscript has been accepted unless a valid explanation is provided and approved by the Editor-in-Chief.