Research and Innovation in Applied Linguistics (RIAL) is committed to ensuring that authorship accurately reflects the intellectual and scholarly contributions made to a manuscript. Authorship must be based on substantial academic contributions, transparency, and accountability for the work submitted for publication.

All authors must meet the authorship criteria outlined in this policy. The inclusion of an individual's name as an author must not be based solely on seniority, institutional position, academic rank, supervisory responsibilities, funding provision, or personal relationships.

To qualify for authorship in RIAL, an individual must meet all four of the following criteria:

1. Substantial scholarly contribution: The individual must have made a substantial contribution to at least one of the following: the conception or design of the study; the development of its theoretical or conceptual framework; data collection; data analysis; interpretation of findings; or the development of a scholarly argument in a conceptual or review article.
2. Intellectual involvement in the manuscript: The individual must have participated in drafting the manuscript or critically reviewing it for significant intellectual content. Language editing, proofreading, formatting, or other technical assistance alone does not qualify an individual for authorship.
3. Final approval: The individual must have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript submitted for publication, including any final revisions made during the editorial process that require author approval.
4. Accountability and integrity: The individual must agree to be accountable for their own contributions and to cooperate in addressing questions concerning the accuracy, integrity, or ethical conduct of the work. All authors must understand their respective contributions and have confidence in the integrity of their co-authors' contributions.

Individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions must be given a reasonable opportunity to participate in manuscript preparation, critical review, and final approval so that they can meet the applicable authorship criteria.

The following contributions, when provided alone, do not qualify an individual for authorship:

• General supervision of a research project, research group, or academic unit.
• Provision of funding, institutional support, research facilities, or access to participants.
• Administrative assistance, recruitment support, or data collection without substantial intellectual contribution.
• Language editing, proofreading, transcription, translation, formatting, or technical assistance.
• General advice, informal feedback, or routine academic consultation.

Individuals who have contributed to the work but do not meet all authorship criteria may be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section, with their permission. Their contributions must be described accurately.

The first author should generally be the individual who made the leading scholarly contribution to the study and manuscript, as agreed upon by the author group.

The corresponding author is responsible for communication with RIAL throughout submission, peer review, revision, and publication. The corresponding author must ensure that:

• All listed authors meet the authorship criteria.
• All authors have approved the submitted manuscript and agreed to its submission to RIAL.
• The author contributions statement is complete and accurate.
• All relevant ethical approvals, disclosures, declarations, and permissions have been obtained where applicable.
• All co-authors are informed of editorial decisions and substantive revisions.
• Any requested changes to authorship are communicated transparently to the editorial office.

The order of authorship must be agreed upon by all authors before submission. RIAL does not prescribe a universal authorship-order convention; the author group must determine the order according to the nature and extent of each individual's contribution and the conventions of the relevant research field.

Any request to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be submitted in writing to the RIAL editorial office, accompanied by a clear explanation and written agreement from all affected authors, including any author being added or removed.

RIAL reserves the right to suspend editorial processing while a proposed change is assessed. Authorship changes after acceptance or publication will be considered only when adequately justified and consistent with publication ethics.

RIAL will not independently arbitrate disputes over authorship. Where a dispute cannot be resolved by the authors, the journal may refer the matter to the relevant institution or research organization for investigation and may take appropriate editorial action based on the findings.

RIAL does not permit honorary or gift authorship, in which an individual is listed as an author without meeting all applicable authorship criteria. Ghost authorship, in which an individual who has made qualifying scholarly contributions is improperly omitted from the author list, is also unacceptable.

All authors share responsibility for ensuring that the author list is complete, accurate, and agreed upon before submission.

Individuals who have contributed to a manuscript but do not qualify for authorship may be acknowledged, provided that their contributions are described accurately and their permission to be acknowledged has been obtained.

The corresponding author must ensure that acknowledgment statements do not misrepresent the nature or extent of any individual's contribution.

Artificial intelligence tools, including generative AI systems, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, originality, and ethical compliance of scholarly work.

Authors who use AI tools must comply with RIAL's separate policy on the use of artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies. Human authors remain responsible for the content of the manuscript, including any material generated, revised, or analyzed with AI assistance.

AI assistance does not independently establish authorship eligibility. Individuals who use AI tools must still meet all authorship criteria specified in this policy.

At submission, the corresponding author must confirm that the author list and contribution statements are accurate, that all authors have approved the manuscript and its submission to RIAL, and that no eligible contributor has been improperly excluded.

RIAL may request additional information or supporting documentation if concerns arise regarding authorship, contributorship, or research integrity. Where credible concerns are identified, the journal will follow appropriate publication ethics procedures.

This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to RIAL, including original research articles, review articles, and other scholarly contributions.