1. Authorship Criteria

Authorship should be based on substantial contributions to the conception or design of the research, acquisition of data, analysis or interpretation of data, methodology, or other significant intellectual contributions to the work.

Authors should also:

• Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
• Approve the final version of the manuscript before submission and publication.
• Accept responsibility for their respective contributions to the work.
• Agree to be accountable for the accuracy, integrity, and overall quality of the research and manuscript.
• Cooperate with the journal in addressing questions concerning the integrity, accuracy, or reliability of the work.

Individuals who have not made a substantial intellectual contribution to the research or manuscript should not be listed as authors.

2. Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is responsible for communicating with the journal throughout the submission, peer-review, revision, and publication processes.

The corresponding author should:

• Ensure that all listed authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript before submission.
• Confirm that all authors meet the journal's authorship requirements.
• Coordinate communication between the authors and the editorial office.
• Provide complete and accurate author information, affiliations, and required declarations.
• Ensure that all authors are informed about substantive revisions, editorial decisions, and the final version of the manuscript.
• Assist the editorial office in resolving any questions relating to authorship, contributorship, or manuscript integrity.

The corresponding author does not necessarily have to be the first author.

3. Author Order

The order of authors should be determined and agreed upon by all authors before submission.

IJRDO Journal of Applied Science does not determine the order of authorship or decide the relative contribution of individual authors. Authors are responsible for reaching mutual agreement regarding authorship and author order.

Any disagreement concerning author order should be resolved among the authors before submission whenever possible.

4. Contributorship

Where appropriate, authors may provide a description of their individual contributions to the research and manuscript. Such information promotes transparency and helps clarify the specific responsibilities of each contributor.

Contributions may include, but are not limited to:

• Conceptualization
• Methodology
• Investigation
• Data collection
• Data curation
• Formal analysis
• Interpretation of results
• Writing – original draft
• Writing – review and editing
• Supervision
• Project administration
• Resources
• Validation
• Other substantial scholarly contributions

All contributors should be appropriately recognized according to the nature and extent of their contribution.

5. Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or change the order of authors after manuscript submission must be supported by a clear and legitimate justification.

Any proposed change in authorship should include:

• A written request from the corresponding author.
• A clear explanation of the reason for the proposed change.
• Confirmation and agreement from all existing authors.
• Written confirmation from any author being added or removed.
• Confirmation that the revised author list accurately reflects the contributions to the work.

The editorial office may place the manuscript on hold while an authorship issue is being investigated or resolved.

For articles that have already been published, requests for authorship changes will be considered only in exceptional circumstances and may require a published correction, corrigendum, or other appropriate editorial action.

6. Guest, Gift, Honorary, and Ghost Authorship

IJRDO Journal of Applied Science does not support inappropriate authorship practices, including:

• Guest authorship, where an individual is listed as an author despite not making a qualifying contribution.
• Gift or honorary authorship, where authorship is granted as a personal, professional, or institutional favor.
• Ghost authorship, where an individual who made a substantial contribution is omitted from the author list.

All listed authors must have made a genuine and substantial contribution to the research or manuscript and must accept responsibility for their contribution.

7. Acknowledgment of Contributors

Individuals who have contributed to the research or manuscript but do not meet the journal's authorship criteria may be acknowledged with their permission.

Examples may include:

• Technical assistance
• Administrative support
• Language or editorial assistance
• Data collection assistance that does not constitute a substantial intellectual contribution
• Laboratory or research support
• General supervision or institutional support

Acknowledgments should accurately describe the nature of the contribution and should not be used as a substitute for appropriate authorship.

8. Authorship Disputes

The journal expects authors to resolve authorship disagreements among themselves or through their affiliated institutions whenever possible.

If an authorship dispute cannot be resolved, IJRDO Journal of Business Management may request relevant documentation or clarification from the authors and may refer the matter to the authors' affiliated institutions or other appropriate authorities.

The journal may suspend submission, peer review, revision, or publication processes until the authorship issue has been satisfactorily resolved.

The editorial office will not normally determine which individual should be listed as an author or how authors should be ranked.

9. Author Responsibility

All authors are expected to take responsibility for the integrity of their contributions and to cooperate with the journal in responding to any questions concerning the manuscript.

By submitting a manuscript to IJRDO Journal of Business Management, authors confirm that:

• The submitted author list accurately reflects the individuals who qualify for authorship.
• All listed authors have approved the submitted manuscript.
• All authors agree to the submission and publication of the work.
• No qualifying contributor has been improperly excluded from the author list.
• Any potential authorship or contributorship issue has been disclosed to the journal.