Authorship Criteria

1. Purpose and Principles

LENSA (Lentera Sains) recognizes authorship as both scholarly credit and responsibility. Authorship should accurately identify individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research and who are willing to take responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and ethical conduct of the published work.

This policy aims to:

  • ensure that individuals who make substantial scholarly contributions receive appropriate authorship credit;

  • prevent honorary, gift, guest, coercive, purchased, fictitious, and ghost authorship;

  • distinguish authors from contributors who do not meet authorship criteria;

  • promote transparency regarding individual author contributions;

  • establish the responsibilities of corresponding authors and co-authors; and

  • provide procedures for changes to authorship and the resolution of authorship-related concerns.

Authors are primarily responsible for determining who qualifies for authorship and for agreeing on the order of authors before submission. LENSA (Lentera Sains) may request supporting documentation or institutional clarification when potential authorship irregularities are identified.

2. Criteria for Authorship

Every person listed as an author must meet all four of the following criteria:

Substantial Contribution

The author has made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the study; or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data. For theoretical, conceptual, or literature-based studies, this includes substantial contributions to the development of arguments, analytical frameworks, or the interpretation and synthesis of sources.

Intellectual Contribution to the Manuscript

The author has participated in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.

Approval of the Final Version

The author has reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.

Accountability

The author agrees to be accountable for the work and to cooperate in ensuring that questions concerning its accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals who satisfy these criteria should be identified as authors. Individuals who make a substantial contribution should have an opportunity to participate in manuscript revision, final approval, and accountability so that they can fulfill the remaining criteria.

A person’s academic position, institutional authority, seniority, reputation, supervision, provision of facilities, or funding alone does not qualify that individual for authorship.

3. Author Responsibilities

Each author is responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their individual contribution.

All authors should:

  • understand the overall objectives, methods, findings, and conclusions of the research;

  • be aware of the principal contributions made by their co-authors;

  • have reasonable confidence in the integrity of their co-authors’ contributions;

  • cooperate with requests for data, ethical documentation, clarification, corrections, or investigations; and

  • participate in resolving legitimate questions concerning the integrity or accuracy of the published work.

Authorship entails collective scholarly responsibility. An author cannot avoid all responsibility for the integrity of a publication merely by stating that another author was responsible for a particular section.

4. Author Contribution Statement

LENSA (Lentera Sains) requires manuscripts to include an Author Contribution Statement describing the contribution of each author.

Authors are encouraged to use the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), where applicable. Contributions may include:

  • Conceptualization;

  • Data Curation;

  • Formal Analysis;

  • Funding Acquisition;

  • Investigation;

  • Methodology;

  • Project Administration;

  • Resources;

  • Software;

  • Supervision;

  • Validation;

  • Visualization;

  • Writing – Original Draft; and

  • Writing – Review & Editing.

An author may perform multiple roles, and the same role may be attributed to more than one author.

All authors must review and approve the contribution statement before submission.

The assignment of one or more CRediT roles does not automatically qualify an individual for authorship. Every author must still satisfy the authorship criteria established in this policy.

5. Non-Author Contributors and Acknowledgements

Individuals who contributed to the research or manuscript but do not satisfy all authorship criteria should not be listed as authors. Their contributions may instead be recognized in the Acknowledgements section.

Contributions that do not, on their own, establish eligibility for authorship may include:

  • routine data collection;

  • administrative or logistical assistance;

  • technical assistance;

  • language editing or proofreading;

  • translation;

  • manuscript formatting;

  • preparation of illustrations;

  • provision of research facilities or equipment;

  • general supervision;

  • funding acquisition without substantial intellectual involvement; or

  • other assistance that does not fulfill all authorship criteria.

The nature of the contribution should be clearly stated. Permission must be obtained before identifying an individual by name in the Acknowledgements.

6. Unacceptable Authorship Practices

LENSA (Lentera Sains) does not tolerate manipulation of authorship. The following practices are prohibited:

Honorary or Gift Authorship

Listing an individual as an author primarily because of seniority, academic position, reputation, institutional authority, personal relationships, or expectations of reciprocal authorship when the person does not satisfy the authorship criteria.

Guest Authorship

Including a prominent, senior, or influential individual primarily to enhance the perceived credibility or likelihood of acceptance of a manuscript without a qualifying scholarly contribution.

Coercive Authorship

Using academic, supervisory, employment, financial, or institutional authority to demand authorship without making a qualifying scholarly contribution.

Ghost Authorship

Excluding an individual who qualifies for authorship or concealing substantial writing or research assistance that should be transparently disclosed.

Purchased or Sold Authorship

Buying, selling, offering, exchanging, transferring, or otherwise commercially trading positions in an article’s author list.

Fictitious or Fraudulent Authorship

Listing a nonexistent individual, using a false identity, impersonating another researcher, or including another person’s identity without authorization.

Authorship Without Consent

Including an individual’s name as an author without that individual’s knowledge, approval of the manuscript, and agreement to accept authorship responsibility.

Suspected authorship manipulation may result in suspension of manuscript processing, rejection, correction, retraction where warranted, notification of relevant institutions, or other appropriate action under LENSA (Lentera Sains)  publication ethics policies.

7. Author Order

Authors are collectively responsible for determining the order in which their names appear.

LENSA (Lentera Sains) does not determine author order and does not automatically interpret any particular author position as representing a specific level of contribution.

All authors should discuss and agree upon the author order before initial submission.

Where two or more authors have contributed equally, an equal-contribution statement may be included, provided that it accurately represents their respective contributions and has been approved by all authors.

8. Corresponding Author

The Corresponding Author serves as the principal contact between the author group and LENSA (Lentera Sains)  throughout submission, peer review, production, publication, and post-publication communication.

The Corresponding Author is responsible for:

  • ensuring that all listed authors satisfy the journal’s authorship criteria;

  • ensuring that eligible authors have not been omitted;

  • obtaining agreement regarding the author list and author order;

  • ensuring the accuracy of author names, affiliations, ORCID identifiers, and contact information;

  • ensuring that all authors have approved the manuscript before submission;

  • coordinating the Author Contribution and Conflict of Interest statements;

  • keeping all co-authors informed about editorial correspondence and decisions;

  • coordinating revisions and obtaining approval of the final manuscript;

  • responding promptly to editorial requests;

  • ensuring that ethical approval, informed consent, research data, permissions, and supporting documentation can be provided when required, subject to applicable confidentiality and data-protection obligations; and

  • remaining available after publication to address legitimate questions, corrections, or research-integrity concerns.

The responsibilities of the Corresponding Author do not diminish the individual and collective responsibilities of the other authors.

9. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Authorship

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and AI-assisted tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors of articles published in LENSA (Lentera Sains).

AI systems cannot satisfy the journal’s authorship criteria because they cannot:

  • take responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of research;

  • approve the final manuscript;

  • declare conflicts of interest;

  • assume the rights and responsibilities associated with authorship; or

  • independently respond to questions concerning research integrity.

Human authors remain fully responsible for all content generated, edited, translated, analyzed, or otherwise assisted by AI.

Where AI has been used substantively in preparing a manuscript or conducting the research, its use must be transparently disclosed in accordance with the journal’s policy on the use of Artificial Intelligence.

AI assistance does not reduce the contribution or accountability required of human authors.

10. Finalization of the Author List

The complete author list should be finalized before initial submission and must be consistent between the manuscript and the journal’s submission metadata.

Before submission, all authors should agree on:

  • inclusion in the author list;

  • author order;

  • designation of the Corresponding Author;

  • institutional affiliations;

  • the Author Contribution Statement;

  • the Conflict of Interest declaration; and

  • the version of the manuscript being submitted.

LENSA (Lentera Sains) reserves the right to request ORCID identifiers, institutional email confirmation, contribution records, authorship declarations, or other reasonable documentation to verify authorship and researcher identity.

11. Changes to Authorship Before Acceptance

Requests to add, remove, replace, or reorder authors after initial submission will only be considered when a legitimate and clearly documented reason is provided.

The Corresponding Author must provide:

  1. A description of the requested change;

  2. A clear justification for the change;

  3. An updated Author Contribution Statement; and

  4. Written agreement from all existing authors and any author being added or removed.

An individual being added must confirm that they meet the journal’s authorship criteria, approve the manuscript, and accept responsibility for the work.

An individual being removed must confirm their agreement to the removal.

LENSA (Lentera Sains)  may temporarily suspend peer review or editorial processing while an authorship-change request is evaluated. The final editorial decision regarding such changes rests with the Editor, subject to the procedures for unresolved disputes described below.

12. Changes to Authorship After Acceptance

After a manuscript has been formally accepted, changes involving the addition, removal, replacement, or rearrangement of authors will be considered only under exceptional circumstances.

Requests must include the documentation and written agreements specified in Section 11. Publication may be suspended while the request is evaluated.

LENSA (Lentera Sains) may decline or defer an authorship-change request when:

  • the justification is inadequate;

  • the requested change is inconsistent with documented contributions;

  • consent from affected authors is unavailable;

  • there is evidence of coercion, purchase, sale, or manipulation of authorship; or

  • an unresolved authorship dispute requires institutional investigation.

Authors should therefore ensure that the author list is complete and accurate before submission.

13. Changes to Authorship After Publication

Authorship information in a published LENSA (Lentera Sains)  article will not be changed silently.

When a legitimate authorship change is approved after publication, LENSA (Lentera Sains)  will normally issue a formal Correction linked to the original article and update the relevant publication metadata.

The journal may require:

  • written agreement from all authors;

  • an updated Author Contribution Statement;

  • supporting institutional documentation;

  • confirmation from individuals being added or removed; and

  • an explanation of why the correct authorship information was not provided before publication.

Where agreement cannot be obtained, the journal may seek an appropriate institutional determination before taking action.

An authorship dispute alone does not automatically justify retraction. Where concerns also affect the reliability or integrity of the publication, LENSA (Lentera Sains)  may take appropriate action under its correction, expression of concern, or retraction procedures.

14. Authorship Disputes

LENSA (Lentera Sains) does not normally adjudicate disputes concerning which individuals deserve authorship or the appropriate order of authors when the parties involved cannot reach agreement.

In cases of unresolved authorship disputes, the journal may:

  • request that the authors resolve the issue collectively;

  • suspend peer review, acceptance, production, or publication;

  • request documentation concerning individual contributions;

  • refer the matter to the relevant institution or institutions;

  • request a determination from an appropriate institutional authority or research-integrity body; or

  • take appropriate editorial action when there is evidence of research or publication misconduct.

LENSA (Lentera Sains) will generally rely on documented agreement among the affected authors or an appropriate institutional determination before making substantive changes to an author list.

15. Submissions from Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and Editorial Board members who submit manuscripts to LENSA (Lentera Sains)  must satisfy the same authorship, ethical, and scientific requirements as all other authors.

When an Editor or Editorial Board member is an author or co-author of a submitted manuscript, they must have no involvement in the editorial handling of that manuscript.

The manuscript will be assigned to another qualified editor who has no relevant conflict of interest. The author-editor will not participate in reviewer selection, confidential peer-review communication, editorial deliberations, or the final publication decision. Their participation will be limited to their role as an author.

16. Policy Review

LENSA (Lentera Sains) may periodically review and update this Authorship and Contributorship Policy to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, publication ethics, authorship standards, contributor taxonomies, and research-integrity practices.

This policy is intended to promote fair authorship attribution, transparency of scholarly contributions, accountability, and research integrity across empirical, theoretical, conceptual, and literature-based Science.