Qoralama tarjima. Asl nusxasini ko'ring: English
What does a corresponding author actually do?
The corresponding author is the one person who handles all journal communication — from submission through peer review, revisions, proofs, and post-publication queries. Per ICMJE, they take primary responsibility for administrative requirements: providing author details, ethics approvals, clinical trial registrations, and conflict-of-interest disclosures. Their affiliation also determines APC waiver eligibility at most publishers, which makes the choice financially significant.
Detail
Administrative responsibilities
Submitting the manuscript, responding to editor and reviewer queries, coordinating revisions among co-authors, approving proofs, and handling post-publication queries or corrections. Also responsible for ensuring authorship criteria are met and disclosed.
Financial responsibilities (waiver eligibility)
Also decides who pays. At most publishers, the corresponding author's affiliation determines whether the paper qualifies for an APC waiver. Naming a co-author in a high-income country as corresponding can remove the waiver entirely.
What this role is NOT
Not the same as first author (though sometimes the same person). Not the same as senior author (also sometimes the same person). Not necessarily the one who did most of the work. Just the one who handles administration.
Multiple corresponding authors
Increasingly common — two or more authors marked as corresponding, with different responsibilities. One may handle submission, another handle peer review. Some journals limit this, some allow it. Always check the journal's policy.