Research Junction Institute

Authorship & Research Integrity Policy

Effective from launch. Applies to all members and research participants.

1. Purpose

Research Junction Institute is committed to the highest standards of research integrity and transparency in academic publication. This Authorship and Research Integrity Policy establishes the criteria, process, and standards governing the attribution of authorship on all manuscripts developed, coordinated, or submitted through Institute programs, and sets out the Institute's expectations with respect to research integrity, academic honesty, and ethical conduct in all research activities.

This Policy applies to all Members, mentors, Lead Investigators, Methodology Experts, and other participants involved in any research project coordinated by the Institute.

2. ICMJE Authorship Criteria

The Institute adopts the authorship criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). To qualify for authorship credit on an Institute-coordinated manuscript, an individual must satisfy all four of the following criteria:

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

(b) Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;

(c) Final approval of the version to be published; and

(d) Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, including appropriate investigation and resolution of questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work.

Individuals who contribute to a project but do not satisfy all four criteria may be recognized in the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript but shall not be listed as authors.

3. Eligibility and Merit-Based Award

Authorship at Research Junction Institute is awarded solely on merit, in strict accordance with the ICMJE criteria set out in Section 2. No individual may acquire authorship credit by reason of:

(a) payment of membership fees or any other financial contribution to the Institute;

(b) seniority, title, or institutional affiliation alone;

(d) administrative or managerial role unaccompanied by substantive intellectual contribution; or

(e) any arrangement inconsistent with the ICMJE criteria.

Conversely, no individual who has made a substantive intellectual contribution meeting the ICMJE criteria may be excluded from authorship without that individual's informed consent. Any allegation of inappropriate exclusion from authorship may be raised under Section 7 of this Policy.

4. Author Order

The order in which authors are listed on a manuscript reflects each author's relative contribution to the work and is determined by the Lead Investigator in consultation with the project team, having regard to the level and nature of each author's contribution.

The Institute recognizes that conventions for author order vary across disciplines. Lead Investigators will apply the convention appropriate to the target journal and discipline, and will communicate the proposed author order to all listed authors for review prior to manuscript submission.

5. Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is the individual responsible for ongoing communication with the journal's editorial office, from submission through peer review, revision, and post-publication correspondence. The corresponding author is typically, though not invariably, the Lead Investigator or a Senior Mentor.

The corresponding author must ensure that all listed authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript and have consented to submission. The corresponding author also undertakes responsibility for ensuring that Institute acknowledgment requirements are met in accordance with Section 6.

6. Institute Acknowledgment Requirements

Every manuscript submitted through, or with the support of, Institute programs must include a formal acknowledgment of Research Junction Institute's role in the project. The acknowledgment must be included in the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript and must:

(a) identify Research Junction Institute by its full name;

(b) acknowledge the Institute's role in coordinating the research project or supporting the research team; and

The following is an example of an appropriate acknowledgment statement: "The authors acknowledge Research Junction Institute for coordinating the research team and supporting the development of this manuscript."

The Lead Investigator and corresponding author are jointly responsible for ensuring compliance with this requirement prior to submission.

7. Authorship Disputes

The Institute takes authorship disputes seriously and encourages prompt, good-faith resolution.

Step 1 — Direct Discussion. In the first instance, Members involved in a dispute regarding authorship attribution or exclusion are encouraged to raise the matter directly and professionally within the project team.

Step 2 — Institute Mediation. Where direct discussion does not resolve the dispute, any affected Member may request Institute mediation by submitting a written account of the dispute to help@researchjunction.org. The Institute will review submissions from all relevant parties and facilitate a structured resolution process.

Step 3 — Determination. Where mediation does not produce a resolution, the Institute reserves the right to make a final determination regarding authorship attribution, having regard to the ICMJE criteria and the evidence submitted by the parties.

Members are reminded that authorship determinations under this Policy are final subject only to applicable law, and that participation in an authorship dispute process does not suspend a Member's obligations under these Terms and the applicable Policies.

8. Artificial Intelligence, Academic Integrity, and Plagiarism

AI-Generated Content. The Institute discourages the use of artificial intelligence language tools to generate substantive manuscript content presented as a Member's own intellectual contribution. Members may use AI tools for limited, assistive purposes — such as grammar checking or reference formatting — provided the core intellectual content, analysis, and argumentation of the manuscript represents the Member's genuine effort.

Manuscripts submitted for Institute review that are found to contain excessive AI-generated content will be returned to the responsible Member for correction within a reasonable period. Where the deficiency is not corrected, the Institute may remove that Member's contribution from the project and revoke authorship eligibility in accordance with Section 9.

Plagiarism. All manuscript content must be original. Direct copying, paraphrasing without attribution, and recycling of previously published material without proper citation are forms of plagiarism and constitute a serious breach of this Policy and the Institute's Terms and Conditions. The Institute may use plagiarism-detection tools to review manuscript content at any stage of the publication process.

Data Integrity. All data collected, extracted, or analyzed in connection with Institute projects must be reported accurately and completely. Fabrication, falsification, selective reporting, and manipulation of data are strictly prohibited and constitute grounds for immediate removal from all Institute projects and termination of membership.

9. Enforcement and Consequences

Where the Institute determines, following a review conducted under its reasonable judgment, that a Member has violated this Policy, it may take any one or more of the following actions, depending on the nature and severity of the violation:

(a) issuance of a formal written warning;

(b) requirement to correct or resubmit work within a specified period;

(d) removal of the Member's contribution from one or more research projects;

(e) revocation of authorship eligibility on affected manuscripts;

(f) permanent termination of membership; and/or

(g) notification to the target journal's editorial office, where required by applicable publication ethics standards.

The Institute will generally afford a Member the opportunity to respond before a final determination is made, except where the violation is sufficiently serious to warrant immediate action.

10. Contact

Questions or concerns regarding this Policy, requests for authorship dispute mediation, or reports of suspected integrity violations should be directed to:

Research Junction Institute
Email: help@researchjunction.org

This Policy is to be read together with the Institute's Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Code of Conduct.