The corresponding author is the principal point of contact for the journal during the paper submission, peer review, and publishing processes. The corresponding author is responsible for communicating with the journal during the submission and publishing processes, including responding to questions about manuscripts and providing information about the content of manuscripts.
Corresponding authors are also responsible for ensuring that all listed authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication. The corresponding author is required to supply all relevant details on ethics. That is needed by reviewers as part of their analysis of a paper. The corresponding author will also be asked by editors or reviewers to provide additional information.
What is a corresponding author
The corresponding author is the individual in charge of the paper’s contents, which include selecting the study methods and data analysis, writing the manuscript, and getting necessary permissions from other researchers. The corresponding author is typically one of the authors who helped design or conduct the study.
Roles and Responsibilities of the corresponding author
1. Completes and submits the form for new submissions
The corresponding author is responsible for completing submission details on the journal’s submission website. Some journals may also use this information to pre-populate the title, abstract, keywords and text for their specific journal. Each submission requires that a manuscript ID be created which is generated from the paper title. Each manuscript ID will only work once and any subsequent attempts to re-submit a paper will generate an error with instructions of what needs to be corrected in order to successfully submit a new paper.
2. Manages peer review process
The corresponding author is responsible for responding to reviewer comments. In some cases, editors may help facilitate the exchange between authors and reviewers. However, this is dependent on the journal’s editorial policy and should be discussed with your editor prior to submitting a paper. For example, there could be cases where authors are required to respond directly. The corresponding author may also have to submit additional material such as methods details or data in response to reviewer’s questions about major revision suggestions.
3. Manages reviewers
The corresponding author is responsible for selecting and engaging the appropriate reviewers for their manuscript. This can be done through the journal’s editorial manager where authors are advised on which reviewers to invite. In some instances, journals may also provide a database of potential reviewers from authors. For specialized journals however, editors may have a list of potential experts in the field and authors, hope that an appropriate reviewer is selected to review their submission.
Final Verdict
The corresponding author is the person who will be responsible for communicating with the journal during the submission and publishing process. It is important to have a good understanding and any changes needed to be made in order to move forward. It is critical to underline that, while all authors share equal accountability, the corresponding author bears the main duty for contact with a journal.
