Authorship transparency and equity in maxillofacial surgery and otolaryngology: state of the art and role of the CalculAuthor tool

The determination of authorship order in scientific publications is critical for researcher recognition and
career progression. According to a recent survey’s meta-analysis, the prevalence of Honrary Authorship
reaches 20% of authors. This study evaluates the adoption of authorship guidelines in maxillofacial
surgery and otolaryngology journals and assesses the alignment of credit statements with actual
authorship. A review of 21 Scopus-indexed journals revealed that 8 adhered to the CRediT system, 7 to
other systems, and 6 had no guidelines. From 147 randomly selected manuscripts, 57 reported
contributions. Following CalculAuthor tool, the mean agreement score was 65.3% (SD = 26.8), without
significant differences in journal quartiles or disciplines. This study highlights the moderate adoption of
standardized contribution systems in maxillofacial and otolaryngology journals, with a fair level of
agreement between reported contributions and actual authorship. Our literature review confirmed that
while current guidelines are effective when followed, there is a need for greater transparency and wider
adoption. The study's limitations include a small sample size and the pilot retrospective application of the
CalculAuthor tool. Future research should focus on larger, more diverse samples and develop prospective
implementations to ensure accurate and equitable authorship credit in the context of the Artificial
Intelligence’s scientific writing era.