In the March-April 2020 issue of JANAC, the editorial leadership team shared the journal's operational values. One of those core values was integrity. Although there are numerous definitions of integrity, JANAC recognizes integrity as "adherence to moral and ethical principles" (http://Dictionary.com). As a journal involved in the dissemination of scientific and clinical knowledge, we believe that we have a shared responsibility to promote research and publishing integrity. This responsibility for integrity is shared with all authors of each manuscript, the respective institutions of the authors, the ethical review boards authorizing scientific inquiry, the funding agencies, and the publisher of JANAC.

Authorship

As we think about authorship, a guiding authority on the definition of authorship is the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). To be eligible for authorship on a JANAC manuscript, an individual must meet all of the following criteria, as described by the ICMJE (n.d.):

* Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work;

* Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;

* Final approval of the version to be published; and

* Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

In addition to these four criteria, the ICMJE (n.d.) also recommends that each author of a manuscript accept responsibility for the full manuscript and can ensure the integrity of the contributions of their co-authors. If these criteria cannot be met, then the criteria for authorship have not been met, and the individual should be acknowledged for their contributions in the Acknowledgment section of the manuscript.

When considering authorship, we also need to think about the various forms of unacceptable authorship. The Washington University in St. Louis (n.d.) describes three types of unacceptable authorship: guest, gift, and ghost authorship. Guest authorship, also known as courtesy, prestige, or honor authorship, is awarded to someone out of respect or in the hope of including someone to increase the credibility of the work. Gift authorship is granted out of a sense of obligation or as a tribute to a respected teacher, mentor, or advisor. In contrast, ghost authorship fails to include a major contributor to the research and manuscript development in the author list. Ghost authorship can also include the "author for hire," a professional writer who produces the manuscript but who was not involved in the research.

Determining who the first or lead author will be is another issue that can arise when there are multiple authors for a manuscript. This becomes a complex issue in an era of team science (Fontanarosa et al., 2017). Generally, the lead (first) author is the person who organizes the development of the manuscript; has provided a significant contribution to the research; assumes the responsibility for the integrity of the methods, analysis, and interpretation; and functions as the corresponding author (Washington University in St. Louis, n.d.). While the lead author can be the principal investigator of the study, this is not always the case. In the context of team science, there may be instances when shared co-lead authors or co-senior authors (last author) are warranted (Fontanarosa et al., 2017). However, in some countries, and even in some laboratories or research groups, there is a perception of hierarchy and prestige associated with the roles of corresponding author and/or first author. In some fields, the last author is often the department head or principal investigator and thus receives prestige in that position in the author list.

When the placement in the author list is determined by a person's academic title or professional degree instead of their contributions to the manuscript, ethical issues arise. A physician should not be the lead author just because the other authors are respiratory therapists, for example, unless the physician took the lead (as defined by the journal) in writing the manuscript. Similarly, the chair of a student's dissertation committee should not be placed in the author list based on this role; they must meet the journal's authorship criteria in the same way as the other authors. "Authorship must not be bestowed in an honorary fashion" (Fontanarosa et al., 2017, para. 10).

Appropriate authorship policies are complex issues; thus, the JANAC editorial leadership team continues to update the journal's author guidelines and policies and procedures regarding authorship.

What Else?

Clinical Trials Registration and Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials Reporting Guidelines

To ensure that manuscripts published in JANAC achieve the highest level of integrity, we require that authors adhere to established guidelines for reporting research and clinical findings. As documented in JANAC's information for authors (available at: https://journals.lww.com/janac/Pages/informationforauthors.aspx), the journal requires any submissions coming from clinical trials to be registered with an appropriate clinical trial registry, before enrollment of the first patient, for any manuscripts submitted after June 1, 2020. Furthermore, any manuscript associated with a clinical trial must fully adhere to the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials reporting guidelines.

International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, and Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence

Beginning January 1, 2021, any systematic review submission must be registered in International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), the international database for registering systematic reviews related to health and social care. It is important to understand that PROSPERO registration is required before conducting the systematic review. Furthermore, all authors of a systematic review must ensure full adherence to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Similarly, all quality improvement-related manuscripts must follow the Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence guidelines.

Institutional Review Board Approval

Finally, the journal is now requiring that the institutional review board approval number be included in the body of the manuscript. Research studies involving human subjects must be submitted to the authors' institutions (e.g., universities) for approval, prior to collecting data. They must also be approved by any institution where data will be collected (e.g., hospital, clinic). Similarly, clinical trial registration numbers are now required to be included in the body of manuscripts originating from clinical trials, and the PROSPERO registration number will be required in the body of all systematic review manuscripts after January 1, 2021. To ensure a double-blind peer-review process, which is another mechanism of ensuring the integrity of JANAC, all approval and registration numbers will not be included in the manuscripts until after acceptance; at that time, the corresponding authors will be asked to insert the acceptance/registration numbers during the copyediting process.

Conclusion

Integrity is earned through honest and transparent behavior. JANAC's policies and procedures are put in place, modified, and continuously updated in order to adapt to the constant change in the publishing and health care fields. When you submit your manuscript to JANAC, review a JANAC submission, or read JANAC content, you can be assured that JANAC's editorial leadership is doing all they can to earn your trust.

Disclosures

The authors report no real or perceived vested interests related to this article that could be construed as a conflict of interest.

References