Spektrum Iran

SPEKTRUM IRAN (SPIR) recognizes authorship as an important academic responsibility and is committed to ensuring that authorship reflects genuine intellectual contributions to scholarly work. All individuals listed as authors must meet the criteria for authorship and accept responsibility for the content, integrity, and accuracy of the published work.

The order of authorship should be determined collectively by all authors before submission. SPIR does not determine the order of authors; however, all authors are expected to agree on their respective contributions and the sequence in which their names appear.

SPIR follows the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding authorship, contributorship, and authorship disputes.

Criteria for Authorship

Authorship should be based on substantial intellectual contributions to the research, including one or more of the following:

• conception and design of the study;
• development of the research framework or methodology;
• analysis and interpretation of data, sources, or research materials;
• substantial contribution to the intellectual content of the manuscript;
• drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.

All authors must:

• approve the final version of the manuscript before submission and publication;
• agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work;
• ensure that questions related to the accuracy, integrity, or ethical aspects of the research are appropriately addressed.

Individuals who have contributed only through technical assistance, language editing, translation, administrative support, funding acquisition, or general supervision do not qualify for authorship by themselves. Such contributions may be recognized in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript.

Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the journal and all co-authors throughout the submission, peer-review, and publication processes.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

• confirming that all listed authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria;
• ensuring that all authors have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript;
• communicating editorial decisions, revisions, and publication matters to all co-authors;
• providing accurate information regarding authorship and author contributions.

The corresponding author takes responsibility for the overall integrity of the work and ensures that all authors are aware of and agree with the submitted manuscript.

Contributor Roles

SPIR encourages authors to identify individual contributions according to the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT). Where applicable, authors may specify contributions in areas including:

• Conceptualization;
• Methodology;
• Investigation;
• Data curation;
• Formal analysis;
• Writing – original draft preparation;
• Writing – review and editing;
• Supervision;
• Project administration.

Acknowledgement of Non-Author Contributions

Individuals or organizations that have contributed to the research but do not meet authorship criteria may be acknowledged in the manuscript.

Examples include technical assistance, language support, administrative assistance, or other forms of support that do not involve substantial intellectual contribution.

Authors should obtain permission from individuals before including their names in the Acknowledgements section.

Number of Authors

SPIR does not impose arbitrary limits on the number of authors. The number of authors should reflect the scope, complexity, and intellectual contributions involved in the research.

If the number of authors appears disproportionate to the nature of the manuscript, the editors may request clarification of each author's contribution.

Changes to Authorship

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be submitted to the SPIR Editorial Office by the corresponding author.

Requests must include:

• a clear explanation for the requested change;
• written agreement from all authors regarding the proposed change;
• confirmation that all authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria.

SPIR handles authorship changes in accordance with COPE guidelines. Changes to authorship after acceptance will only be considered in exceptional circumstances and require approval by the editorial office.

Any post-publication changes to authorship will be considered only when justified and may require publication of a formal correction notice.