TAZKIYA Journal of Psychology is committed to ensuring that authorship accurately reflects the intellectual and scholarly contributions made to a research manuscript. This policy establishes the principles for determining authorship, recognizing contributors, assigning author responsibilities, and managing changes to authorship during the publication process.

All authors and contributors are expected to uphold research integrity, transparency, accountability, and responsible publication practices. Authorship must not be assigned solely on the basis of seniority, position, institutional affiliation, funding provision, or supervisory status.

Authorship is reserved for individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript. In determining authorship, TAZKIYA encourages authors to apply recognized international standards, including the authorship principles established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), where appropriate to the research discipline.

An author should meet all of the following criteria:

• Make a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the study, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of research data.
• Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
• Approve the final version of the manuscript to be submitted or published.
• Accept accountability for their own contributions and cooperate in ensuring that questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Individuals who have contributed to a study but do not meet all applicable authorship criteria should be acknowledged as contributors rather than automatically listed as authors. All listed authors must agree to the authorship arrangement and approve the final manuscript.

TAZKIYA encourages transparent reporting of the specific contributions made by each author. A contributorship statement should clearly describe the roles of the individuals involved in the research and preparation of the manuscript.

Depending on the nature of the study, contributions may include:

• Conceptualization: Development of the research idea, objectives, and theoretical framework.
• Methodology: Development or selection of the research design, procedures, and analytical approach.
• Investigation: Conducting the research, collecting data, or carrying out study procedures.
• Data Curation: Organizing, documenting, and preparing research data for analysis or reuse, where appropriate.
• Formal Analysis: Applying statistical, computational, qualitative, or other analytical techniques to interpret data.
• Validation: Verifying the reliability, consistency, or reproducibility of methods and findings.
• Writing – Original Draft: Preparing the initial manuscript or substantive sections of the article.
• Writing – Review and Editing: Critically reviewing, revising, and improving the manuscript's intellectual content.
• Supervision: Providing substantive academic guidance and oversight of the research.
• Project Administration: Coordinating the research activities and managing research implementation.
• Funding Acquisition: Obtaining financial support for the research project.
• Resources: Providing essential research materials, instruments, facilities, or other resources.

These contribution categories are illustrative and may be adapted to the actual work performed. Not every category applies to every manuscript. A contribution label alone does not automatically establish authorship; individuals listed as authors must meet the journal's authorship criteria.

Individuals who provide limited assistance but do not meet the authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately, with their permission. Such contributions may include administrative support, language editing, technical assistance, recruitment support, routine data collection, or general supervision that does not involve substantial intellectual contribution to the work.

Providing funding, holding a senior academic position, supervising a student, or belonging to the institution where the research was conducted does not, by itself, justify authorship. Conversely, contributors who meet the applicable authorship criteria should not be excluded from authorship because of their employment status, academic rank, or institutional position.

The order of authors should be determined collectively by the authors based on the relative scholarly contributions made to the study and manuscript. TAZKIYA does not impose a universal author-order convention because practices may differ across research designs and academic disciplines.

All authors should discuss and agree on the author order before submission. The corresponding author is responsible for communicating the agreed order to the journal and confirming that all authors approve it. Author order should not be manipulated to provide honorary recognition or to conceal the contributions of individuals who meet the authorship criteria.

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the authors and the editorial office throughout submission, peer review, revision, and publication. The corresponding author is expected to:

• Ensure that all individuals listed as authors meet the applicable authorship criteria and that no eligible author is improperly excluded.
• Obtain approval of the final manuscript and agreement to submission from all co-authors.
• Provide accurate author names, affiliations, contact information, and contributorship statements.
• Communicate editorial decisions, reviewer comments, revision requests, and publication updates to co-authors.
• Coordinate responses to reviewer comments and ensure that all co-authors are informed of substantive changes.
• Disclose relevant funding, conflicts of interest, ethical approvals, and other required declarations.
• Help resolve questions about authorship, contribution statements, or the integrity of the submitted work.

The corresponding author has an administrative and coordinating role and does not automatically have greater scholarly credit or sole responsibility for the work. All authors remain accountable for their respective contributions and share responsibility for the integrity of the publication.

The authorship list, author order, and corresponding author should be finalized before manuscript submission. Any request to add or remove an author, change author order, or replace the corresponding author after submission must be justified in writing and submitted to the editorial office.

A request to change authorship must include:

• A clear explanation of the reason for the requested change.
• A description of the relevant contributions of the affected author or authors.
• Written confirmation that all listed authors, including any author being added or removed, agree to the proposed change.

The editorial team will assess the request before making any change to the journal's submission or publication records. Changes to authorship will not be made solely at the request of one author without appropriate justification and agreement from all affected parties. For articles that have already been published, any change must follow the journal's applicable correction and publication-integrity procedures.

Authorship disputes should first be addressed by the individuals involved and, where appropriate, their affiliated institutions. The journal is not responsible for determining the employment, contractual, or institutional relationships among authors, but it may request clarification or supporting documentation when a dispute affects the integrity of a submission or publication.

Where a dispute cannot be resolved or raises concerns about research integrity, the editorial team may suspend editorial processing while seeking clarification from the relevant parties or institutions. The journal may take appropriate action in accordance with its publication ethics and correction policies.

Authors should acknowledge individuals, organizations, institutions, and funding bodies that provided meaningful support but do not meet the authorship criteria. Permission should be obtained from individuals named in acknowledgments where appropriate.

All sources of financial support and relevant non-financial assistance should be disclosed accurately. Acknowledgments must not be used to imply endorsement of the research findings by individuals or organizations that have not approved such an endorsement.

Practices inconsistent with responsible authorship include, but are not limited to:

• Gift or honorary authorship: Listing an individual who has not made a qualifying scholarly contribution.
• Ghost authorship: Omitting an individual who has made a substantial contribution and meets the authorship criteria.
• Unauthorized authorship changes: Adding, removing, or reordering authors without the required justification and agreement.
• Misrepresentation of contributions: Providing inaccurate or misleading descriptions of an individual's role in the research.
• False approval: Claiming that all authors have approved the manuscript when such approval has not been obtained.

When concerns about authorship misconduct arise, TAZKIYA may request explanations, supporting records, or confirmation from the relevant authors or institutions. Depending on the findings and stage of publication, the journal may reject a manuscript, suspend processing, request corrections, or take other appropriate action under its publication ethics policies.

By submitting a manuscript to TAZKIYA: Journal of Psychology, the corresponding author confirms that the authorship information is accurate, that all listed authors meet the applicable authorship criteria, that all authors have approved the manuscript and agreed to its submission, and that relevant contributions, funding, and conflicts of interest have been disclosed.

All authors are expected to cooperate with reasonable editorial requests for clarification of authorship, contributorship, and research integrity throughout the editorial process.