Authorship and Contributorship Criteria

1. Introduction

Musyarakah: Journal of Sharia Economics (MJSE) is committed to maintaining integrity, transparency, and accountability in scholarly publishing. This policy establishes the principles and requirements for authorship, contributorship, and the appropriate recognition of individuals involved in research and manuscript preparation. It is intended to ensure that authorship accurately reflects each individual's intellectual contribution and responsibility for the published work, in accordance with the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

2. Definitions and General Principles

Authorship acknowledges an individual's substantial intellectual contribution to research and publication. It also entails responsibility and accountability for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work.

Contributorship refers to contributions to research or manuscript preparation that do not satisfy all authorship requirements but nevertheless deserve appropriate recognition.

MJSE prohibits unethical authorship practices, including:

Gift, Guest, or Honorary Authorship: Including individuals as authors who have not made the contributions required by this policy.
Ghost Authorship: Omitting individuals who meet the authorship criteria or failing to disclose substantial writing or editorial assistance.
Denial of Authorship: Excluding individuals who have made qualifying intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript.

All authors are expected to ensure that authorship and contributorship are assigned fairly, transparently, and in accordance with accepted publication ethics standards.

3. Authorship Criteria

To qualify for authorship in MJSE, an individual must meet all four of the following criteria:

Make a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the research, data collection, analysis, or interpretation of the findings.
Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
Approve the final version of the manuscript for publication.
Accept accountability for the integrity of the work as a whole and agree to address any questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of its content.

Only individuals who satisfy all four criteria may be listed as authors. Those who do not meet every criterion should be acknowledged appropriately rather than included as authors.

4. Non-Author Contributions and Acknowledgements

Individuals who contribute to a study but do not meet the authorship criteria may be recognized in the Acknowledgements section. Such contributions may include:

Funding acquisition without substantial intellectual involvement in the research.
General supervision, administrative support, or research coordination.
Technical assistance, language editing, proofreading, or manuscript preparation.
Data collection or provision of research materials without qualifying intellectual contributions.
Recruitment of participants or other forms of assistance that do not meet all authorship requirements.

Written or documented permission must be obtained from individuals before their names are included in the Acknowledgements section. The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining this permission.

Any substantial writing, editorial, or other professional assistance, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools where relevant, must be disclosed transparently in accordance with the journal's applicable policies. The use of AI tools does not confer authorship.

5. Order of Authors

The order of authors must be agreed upon by all co-authors before manuscript submission. MJSE does not prescribe a universal order of authorship, as conventions may vary across disciplines and research teams. Authors are responsible for ensuring that the agreed order fairly reflects their contributions and complies with the policies of their institutions and funding bodies.

6. Corresponding Author

One author must be designated as the corresponding author. This individual serves as the principal contact between the authors and MJSE throughout submission, peer review, publication, and post-publication communication.

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 and subsequent revisions.
Obtaining the consent of all authors for submission and publication.
Providing accurate author names, affiliations, contact details, and relevant declarations.
Coordinating communication between the editorial office and all co-authors.
Ensuring that authorship, funding, conflicts of interest, and other required disclosures are complete and accurate.
Responding to editorial queries and post-publication questions concerning the article.

7. Changes to Authorship

Any request to add, remove, or reorder authors after initial submission must be submitted in writing to the Editor-in-Chief by the corresponding author. The request must include:

A clear explanation and justification for the proposed change.
Written consent from all authors, including any individual being added or removed.
Confirmation that the revised authorship arrangement complies with the journal's authorship criteria.

Changes to authorship after acceptance are strongly discouraged and will be considered only in exceptional circumstances. Any approved change remains subject to the Editor-in-Chief's decision and may require a formal correction after publication, where appropriate.

8. Author Contributions Statement

MJSE encourages authors to provide an Author Contributions Statement specifying each author's role in the research and manuscript preparation. Where appropriate, the statement may follow the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), including conceptualization, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, writing, supervision, and funding acquisition.

All contributions must be reported accurately. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that the statement has been reviewed and approved by all co-authors.

9. Group Authorship and Collaborative Research

For manuscripts produced by research groups, consortia, or multicentre collaborations, a group name may be included in the author list. However, the manuscript must clearly identify the individuals who qualify for authorship and those responsible for the integrity of the work.

All individuals designated as authors must meet the journal's authorship criteria. Contributions from other group members should be acknowledged appropriately.

10. Authorship Declaration and Submission Requirements

Upon submission, the corresponding author must confirm that:

All listed authors satisfy the journal's authorship criteria.
All authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
All authors consent to submission to MJSE.
The author order and contributions have been agreed upon by all authors.
All relevant acknowledgements, funding information, conflicts of interest, and other required disclosures have been provided.

MJSE may request an authorship declaration form or a detailed author contribution statement as part of the submission and editorial process.

11. Authorship Disputes and Allegations of Misconduct

Authors are encouraged to discuss and agree upon authorship, contribution roles, and author order at the beginning of a research project. Written records of these agreements are recommended, particularly when contributions change during the research process.

Before publication: If an authorship dispute arises, MJSE will generally request that the authors resolve the matter among themselves or through their respective institutions. The journal may suspend editorial processing until the dispute has been resolved satisfactorily.

After publication: If a credible allegation of authorship misconduct or an unresolved dispute is reported, MJSE will assess the matter in accordance with relevant publication ethics standards and COPE guidance. The journal may seek statements from the authors, request an investigation by the relevant institution, and take appropriate editorial action. Such action may include a correction, an expression of concern, or retraction where justified by the findings.

12. Ethical Compliance and Accountability

All authors submitting manuscripts to MJSE are expected to comply with this policy, relevant institutional requirements, and applicable publication ethics standards. By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that the authorship information and contribution statements are accurate and that they accept responsibility for the integrity of the work.

MJSE reserves the right to take appropriate editorial action when violations of this policy are identified. All concerns will be handled fairly, confidentially where appropriate, and in accordance with established publication ethics procedures