BARAKATI: Journal of Community Service is committed to transparent authorship, fair recognition of scholarly contributions, and accountability for published work. This policy defines the criteria for authorship and the responsibilities of authors, corresponding authors, and contributors.

The Four Essential Authorship Criteria

To qualify as an author, an individual must meet all four criteria below. Authorship should reflect meaningful intellectual contributions and a willingness to accept responsibility for the published work.

1. Authorship Criteria

In accordance with widely recognized international authorship principles, an individual qualifies for authorship only when all four of the following conditions are satisfied:

All individuals who meet these four criteria should be listed as authors. Individuals who make substantial contributions to the study must have the opportunity to participate in manuscript preparation or critical revision, approve the final version, and accept the corresponding responsibilities.

2. Contributions That Do Not Independently Qualify for Authorship

Certain contributions, when provided alone, do not satisfy the authorship criteria. These may include:

• Obtaining research funding or financial support without substantial intellectual involvement in the work.
• Providing general supervision, administrative coordination, or institutional support without meeting all authorship criteria.
• Providing technical assistance, data entry, language editing, proofreading, or formatting without substantial intellectual contributions to the manuscript.
• Providing access to facilities, equipment, participants, or other resources without meeting all authorship criteria.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors share responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the published work. Each author should understand their own contribution, be able to identify the contributions of their co-authors, and have confidence in the integrity of the work performed by other members of the author group.

Authors are expected to:

• Ensure that the manuscript is original and that sources, data, ideas, and previously published materials are properly acknowledged.
• Verify that all listed authors meet the journal's authorship criteria and that no eligible contributor is inappropriately excluded.
• Approve the submitted manuscript and any final version intended for publication.
• Disclose relevant funding, competing interests, and other information required by the journal.
• Cooperate with reasonable editorial requests for clarification, supporting information, or investigation of concerns about the work.
• Notify the journal promptly if a significant error or issue affecting the integrity of the published article is identified.

4. Authorship Order and Changes to Authorship

The authors are collectively responsible for determining the authorship list and agreeing on the order in which their names appear. The order should reflect the authors' agreed assessment of their respective contributions and any applicable disciplinary conventions. The journal does not determine authorship order on behalf of the authors.

Any request to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be submitted to the editorial office with a clear explanation and written agreement from all listed authors, as well as from any individual being added or removed, where applicable. The Editor-in-Chief may request supporting documentation and will assess the request before approving any change.

Authorship changes will not be made solely on the request of one author without appropriate consultation and agreement. If the authors disagree about authorship, the journal may suspend processing of the manuscript while the dispute is addressed by the relevant parties or institutions.

5. Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the author group and BARAKATI: Journal of Community Service throughout submission, peer review, and publication.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

• Ensuring that the manuscript complies with the journal's submission requirements and ethical policies.
• Providing complete and accurate author names, affiliations, contact information, and authorship declarations.
• Confirming that all authors have approved the manuscript and agreed to its submission.
• Communicating editorial decisions, reviewer comments, revision requests, and publication updates to all co-authors.
• Submitting accurate responses to editorial queries and coordinating the preparation of revised manuscripts.
• Remaining available after publication to address questions about the article and cooperate with reasonable requests for supporting information, subject to applicable ethical, legal, and confidentiality requirements.

Designation as corresponding author does not remove the individual or any co-author's responsibility for the integrity of the published work.

6. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

BARAKATI recognizes that artificial intelligence tools may assist authors with certain research and manuscript-preparation tasks. However, AI tools cannot meet the journal's authorship criteria because they cannot independently approve a manuscript, take responsibility for the work, or be held accountable for its accuracy and integrity.

Disclosure requirements

Authors must disclose substantive use of AI-assisted tools in preparing a manuscript, in accordance with the journal's disclosure requirements. The disclosure should identify the tool and explain its purpose and the nature of its use.

• Writing and language assistance: Disclose the use of AI for drafting, rewriting, summarizing, or language editing in the Acknowledgments section or another section specified by the journal.
• Research methods and analysis: Describe AI use in data collection, processing, analysis, or interpretation in the Methods section, where applicable.
• Figures, images, and other materials: Disclose AI use in generating or substantially modifying figures, images, or other research materials in the relevant section and comply with applicable copyright, consent, and research ethics requirements.

Routine spelling, grammar, or formatting tools that do not generate substantive content may not require a separate disclosure, subject to the journal's specific instructions. When in doubt, authors should disclose the use of the tool.

7. Compliance and Editorial Action

The editorial team may request clarification or supporting documentation if questions arise concerning authorship, contributor recognition, undisclosed AI use, or the integrity of submitted work. Suspected authorship misconduct, including guest authorship, ghost authorship, inappropriate authorship changes, or misrepresentation of contributions, will be assessed in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies.

Depending on the circumstances and the available evidence, editorial action may include requesting clarification, suspending manuscript processing, rejecting a submission, or taking appropriate post-publication action where necessary.

Commitment to Transparent Authorship

BARAKATI: Journal of Community Service expects all authors to uphold fair attribution, transparent disclosure, responsible use of AI, and accountability for published work. Compliance with these principles helps protect the credibility of the journal and the integrity of the scholarly record.