Research support (statistical, editorial or methodological) has a clear ethical line. Knowing where it sits protects your authorship and the integrity of your work.
What legitimate support looks like
Guidance on study design, help interpreting statistical output, and editorial feedback on clarity and structure are standard, ethical forms of support used throughout academia.
What stays with the author
The research question, the data, the interpretation, and the final intellectual content of the manuscript must remain the author's own. Support should sharpen your work, not replace your authorship of it.
Why the line matters
Authorship carries responsibility: for accuracy, for integrity, for standing behind the work publicly. That responsibility can't be outsourced, and journals increasingly ask authors to declare the nature of any support received.
A simple test
If you couldn't explain and defend every claim in your own manuscript in a viva or a peer review response, the line has already been crossed.