70 SEPTEMBER 2023 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG In this short article, the questions of authorship and what to do with the names of sources that assisted the author(s) will be addressed. Examples from editorial experience will be used but the names have been changed (to protect the innocent). It is acknowledged and understood that it takes several people to conceive a research idea, obtain funding, set up and process experiments (at times over a period of years), analyze study results and, finally, report the findings to the world through publication (Figure 1). Though that is a simplified description of a scientific research project, it gives us a starting point to discuss authorship. Before we go into the authorship discussion, let’s define the supporting portions of the scientific note or paper. The salient parts of the paper germane to this subject are: 1. Acknowledgments 2. Notes 3. Affiliations 4. Corresponding Author Acknowledgments Acknowledgments are just what the heading announces. All individuals who have contributed to this article are listed in this section; for example, technical assistance, formatting-related writing assistance, translators, scholarly discussions, which contributed substantially to the development of the study and/or article, but who do not meet the criteria for authorship, must be listed by name and affiliation in the Acknowledgments section. It is the responsibility of the authors to notify and obtain permission from those they wish to identify in this section. The process of obtaining permission should include sharing the article, so those being identified can verify the context in which their contribution is being acknowledged. Any assistance from AI tools for content generation, such as large language models and other similar types of technical tools, which generate article content, must be clearly acknowledged within the article. It is the responsibility of authors to ensure the validity, originality and integrity of their article content. Authors are expected to use these types of tools responsibly and in accordance with our editorial policies on authorship and principles of publishing ethics (Author Services 2023). Notes The Notes section is somewhat of a “catch-all” place where authors can place information deemed important for the reader to have. This section includes author affiliations and numbered footnotes. Author affiliations must include name, address, organizational affiliation, and email address of at least the corresponding author and any or all of the other authors (World Aquaculture 2023). Authors’ affiliations provide an additional level of credibility to the work presented in the paper as well as identifying further where the study was completed. The numbered notes contain any information necessary to augment that given in the part of the text where the number is assigned. Such information often includes: 1) Address of the maker of the product mentioned in the text, 2) Personal communications, 3) Unpublished material. Affiliations In addition to the information above, author affiliations can provide starting points for readers who desire more information about the study. More importantly, they establish who is studying the animal or subject and where the work is being carried out. This information can be of utmost importance for authors who are studying a new area. It establishes a certain territory, saying to watch for further development but please don’t tread in this exact area until our work is published. This is a type of intellectual property statement that all reputable researchers understand. Corresponding Author A corresponding author is the individual who, when working on a paper with multiple authors, takes primary responsibility for communicating with the journal in which it is intended to be published. They communicate with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer review and eventual publication processes while ensuring all administrative requirements of the journal are satisfied. The corresponding author usually makes themselves available throughout the process to respond to editorial queries. They should also be available after publication to respond to critiques of the work, any questions that arise and to co-operate with requests for additional data or information. Therefore, the corresponding author performs the following tasks: • Responsible for the manuscript as it moves through the entire publication process, • The time keeper during each phase of the publication process, • The primary contact between the journal and all the other authors of the paper, AUTHORSHIP: Who Actually Wrote It? Mary Nickum, Editor, World Aquaculture Magazine It is acknowledged and understood that it takes several people to conceive a research idea, obtain funding, set up and process experiments (at times over a period of years), analyze study results and, finally, report the findings to the world through publication. Though that is a simplified description of a scientific research project, it gives us a starting point to discuss authorship.
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