Title: Who Should Be the Corresponding Author? Roles, Responsibilities, and Guidelines
In collaborative academic research, defining authorship roles is crucial, and one position often carries unique weight: the Corresponding Author. This individual serves as the primary point of contact for the journal throughout the entire publication process, from submission to post-publication.
Deciding who should take on this role isn't always straightforward. It involves understanding specific responsibilities, adhering to ethical guidelines, and ensuring effective communication. This guide will clarify the precise role of the corresponding author, their key duties, and best practices for their selection and attribution.
Deciding who should take on this role isn't always straightforward. It involves understanding specific responsibilities, adhering to ethical guidelines, and ensuring effective communication. This guide will clarify the precise role of the corresponding author, their key duties, and best practices for their selection and attribution.
What is a Corresponding Author?
The corresponding author is the designated individual responsible for handling all communication with the journal before, during, and after the publication process. They act as the primary liaison between the editorial office and all co-authors of the manuscript.
While all authors share responsibility for the integrity of the work, the corresponding author holds a distinct administrative and ethical role.
Key Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author
The duties of a corresponding author are extensive and span multiple stages of the publication lifecycle:
1. Pre-Submission and Submission Stage:
The corresponding author is the designated individual responsible for handling all communication with the journal before, during, and after the publication process. They act as the primary liaison between the editorial office and all co-authors of the manuscript.
While all authors share responsibility for the integrity of the work, the corresponding author holds a distinct administrative and ethical role.
Key Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author
The duties of a corresponding author are extensive and span multiple stages of the publication lifecycle:
1. Pre-Submission and Submission Stage:
- Ensuring Consensus: Confirming that all authors agree on the final version of the manuscript, its submission to the chosen journal, and the order of authorship.
- Collecting Author Information: Gathering necessary details from all co-authors (e.g., affiliations, ORCID IDs, contact information, conflicts of interest).
- Completing Submission Forms: Filling out all required fields in the journal's online submission system.
- Confirming Ethical Approvals: Verifying that all necessary ethical approvals (e.g., IRB, animal ethics) and participant consents are in place and correctly reported.
- Declaration of Conflicts of Interest: Collecting and submitting the conflict of interest declarations from all authors.
2. Peer Review Stage:
- Managing Communication: Receiving all correspondence from the journal (e.g., editorial decisions, reviewer comments, revision requests).
- Disseminating Information: Promptly sharing all journal communications, especially reviewer comments and editor decisions, with all co-authors.
- Coordinating Revisions: Overseeing and coordinating the revision process, ensuring that all authors contribute to addressing reviewer feedback.
- Submitting Revisions and Rebuttals: Uploading the revised manuscript, detailed response to reviewers, and any other required documents.
3. After Acceptance and Publication Stage:
- Proofreading: Reviewing and approving page proofs, ensuring no errors were introduced during typesetting.
- Copyright Forms: Completing and submitting copyright or licensing agreements on behalf of all authors.
- Open Access Decisions: Handling any decisions related to open access publishing fees, if applicable.
- Post-Publication Queries: Responding to any inquiries, critiques, or requests for data/materials that arise after the paper is published.
- Corrections/Errata: Initiating and managing the process for any corrections (corrigenda or errata) if errors are discovered post-publication.
Who Should Be the Corresponding Author?
There's no single rule, but common practices and ethical considerations guide the choice:
There's no single rule, but common practices and ethical considerations guide the choice:
- The Senior Researcher/Principal Investigator (PI): Often, the PI or lab head takes on this role, especially if they are the most experienced in publishing and will oversee any long-term inquiries about the work.
- The Primary Contributor/First Author: If the first author is experienced in publishing and responsible for much of the writing and data analysis, they might also serve as corresponding author.
- The Best Communicator: The individual who can most reliably, effectively, and promptly communicate with the journal and coordinate responses among co-authors.
- The One with Long-Term Responsibility: The person who is most likely to be available years down the line to answer questions or provide data, as the corresponding author's email is usually published with the article.
Important Considerations:
- Only ONE Corresponding Author: While some journals may allow multiple contacts in specific circumstances, generally only one author is designated as the corresponding author, and their email address is published.
- Not Necessarily the First or Last Author: While often the first or last author, the corresponding author can be any contributor, as long as they fulfill the responsibilities.
- Experience Matters: For crucial responsibilities like navigating peer review and handling ethical queries, an author with prior publishing experience is often preferred.
Authorship and Corresponding Author Guidelines
The selection of a corresponding author should always align with broader authorship guidelines, such as those from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which define authorship based on:
The selection of a corresponding author should always align with broader authorship guidelines, such as those from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which define authorship based on:
- Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
- Final approval of the version to be published; AND
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
While all authors must meet these criteria, the corresponding author specifically takes on the additional burden of communication and ultimate oversight of the publication process.
Conclusion
The corresponding author plays a pivotal, multifaceted role in academic publishing, bridging the gap between the research team and the journal. Their responsibilities extend beyond the initial submission, encompassing effective communication, ethical adherence, and long-term accountability. Choosing the right individual for this role, based on their experience, commitment, and ability to manage complex communications, is vital for a smooth publication process and for upholding the integrity of the scientific record.
Conclusion
The corresponding author plays a pivotal, multifaceted role in academic publishing, bridging the gap between the research team and the journal. Their responsibilities extend beyond the initial submission, encompassing effective communication, ethical adherence, and long-term accountability. Choosing the right individual for this role, based on their experience, commitment, and ability to manage complex communications, is vital for a smooth publication process and for upholding the integrity of the scientific record.