Author position ratio (APR): a simple complementary bibliometric descriptor of authorship patterns

• Introduces the Author Position Ratio (APR), a simple descriptor of authorship patterns based solely on byline position. • Classifies researchers into authorship typologies, providing a qualitative identity rather than a numerical credit weight. • Reveals authorship strategies that remain hidden in traditional citation indices such as the h-index and c-score. • Combining APR with citation metrics enhances the interpretive clarity and transparency of bibliometric evaluation. • Offers a fully ope