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Authorship: can you claim a byline?
1Division of Critical Care Medicine, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, Baltimore, Md. 21201, USA.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association
|January 26, 1999
Summary
Authorship guidelines aim to ensure fair credit, but current International Committee of Medical Journal Editors requirements may be too strict. Reaching consensus on realistic authorship criteria is essential for researchers and editors.
Area of Science:
- Medical Publishing
- Scientific Ethics
Background:
- Authorship decisions can negatively impact professional relationships and careers.
- Editors developed Uniform Requirements to promote responsible authorship.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the challenges and perceptions surrounding authorship criteria in scientific publications.
- To assess the adequacy of existing authorship guidelines.
Main Methods:
- Review of International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship criteria.
- Analysis of researcher and editor perspectives on authorship guidelines.
Main Results:
- Current ICMJE criteria require substantial contributions in conception/design, drafting/revision, and final approval.
- Despite guidelines, authorship issues persist, including 'grafters' and 'guests'.
- Researchers find guidelines necessary but potentially overly restrictive and open to misinterpretation.
Conclusions:
- Existing authorship guidelines may not be universally practical or easily understood.
- Collaboration between editors and researchers is needed to establish consensus on appropriate authorship criteria.