[Author-overdose. When will we come clean? - asks the medical librarian]

The present study intends to draw attention to the importance of authorship ethics. It is necessary since papers these days that have many authors--even 10-12 authors--become increasingly general. In the first part of this study the change of author-number in four journals--JAMA, Nature, Lancet and Science--was analyzed based on the main document types--article, editorial material, letter and review--from 1975 until 2009. These changes were similar in all journals. The number of authors for 'articles' has changed the most significantly, a fourfold increase during 34 years. The possible correlation between the expected citations and the change of author-number could not be demonstrated based on this analysis. The increase in the number of authors may include more abuses. This study emphasizes the guideline of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors regarding authorship ethics which could help to reduce the number of misconduct cases. The analysis of some foreign and Hungarian biomedical journals reveals that the foreign periodicals try to follow the main guidelines, but only 4 Hungarian journals, of the analyzed 16, point out the matter of the authorship ethics. The practical solution for this problem is still in the making.