The Corresponding Author

Abstract

In recent months, I have noticed a certain amount of confusion regarding the role of the corresponding author.The function of this individual is to be the point of contact with the editor and publishers during the submission, peer-review and processing of the manuscript, and for readers after the paper has been published (for example, to ask a question of the authors or to request a reprint or raw data files).The corresponding author does not carry any particular status, other than to perform these roles.Additionally, the corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all of the journal's requirements, such as author details, ethical committee approval, clinical trial registration and disclosures of any potential conflicts of interest are completed and reported.This person will also correspond with the publishers regarding open access decisions.They should make sure that any requested deadlines are met, and if time extensions are sought, then this is the person who should communicate with the publishers and editor.For this reason, OPO only allows one corresponding author per manuscript.For example, if the editor or publishers have a question about a submission (perhaps a figure or reference is missing), then it can cause delays and confusion if multiple corresponding authors are listed.Accordingly, it is critical that the corresponding author be available at the email address provided, and if their email address changes during the submission process, then the editor and publishers must be informed of this change as soon as possible.Again, any difficulties reaching the corresponding author will lead to delays.For this reason, it is generally better for a senior person to be listed as the corresponding author, rather than a student or post-doctoral fellow, simply because they are more likely to remain at the same address for a longer period of time.