4. Acknowledgement Criteria

Purpose

The Pakistan Journal of Gastroenterology (PJG) recognizes that many individuals and organizations may contribute to a research project without fulfilling the criteria for authorship. The Acknowledgements section provides an opportunity to appropriately recognize such contributions while maintaining transparency and accountability in scholarly publishing.

This policy is based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

4.1 Who Should Be Acknowledged

Individuals who have made valuable contributions to the research but do not meet the Journal's authorship criteria may be acknowledged.

Examples include:

Technical assistance.
Administrative support.
Laboratory assistance.
Statistical consultation.
Language editing or proofreading.
Data collection assistance.
Clinical support.
Research coordination.
Logistical assistance.

Acknowledgement should accurately reflect the nature of the contribution.

4.2 Contributors Who Should Not Be Listed as Authors

Individuals who only performed one or more of the following activities should generally be acknowledged rather than listed as authors:

Funding acquisition only.
General supervision.
Routine data collection.
Technical support.
Administrative assistance.
Language editing.
Secretarial support.
Provision of materials or equipment without intellectual contribution.

These contributions alone do not satisfy the Journal's authorship requirements.

4.3 Permission for Acknowledgement

Authors must obtain permission from every individual before including their name in the Acknowledgements section.

Inclusion of a person's name implies that they have agreed to be acknowledged and that they do not object to being associated with the published work.

4.4 Institutional and Organizational Support

Authors may acknowledge institutions, departments, laboratories, hospitals, research centers, universities, professional societies, or organizations that provided support for the research.

Examples include:

Laboratory facilities.
Research infrastructure.
Equipment.
Technical services.
Administrative assistance.
Collaborative research support.

4.5 Funding Acknowledgement

Financial support should be acknowledged separately in the Funding Disclosure section whenever applicable.

The Acknowledgements section should not replace mandatory funding disclosures required during manuscript submission.

4.6 Language Editing Services

If professional language editing or scientific editing services were used, authors should acknowledge the service provider where appropriate.

Authors remain fully responsible for the scientific accuracy and integrity of the manuscript regardless of editorial assistance.

4.7 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Artificial Intelligence tools, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, or similar technologies, should not be acknowledged as individuals or contributors.

Where significant AI assistance has been used, authors should disclose such use in accordance with the Journal's Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by Authors rather than in the Acknowledgements section.

4.8 Editorial Review

The Editorial Office reserves the right to request clarification regarding acknowledgements that appear misleading, inappropriate, promotional, or inconsistent with the Journal's authorship policy.

Acknowledgements may be revised or removed if they do not comply with the Journal's editorial standards.