Authorship must be a truthful reflection of substantial intellectual
contribution, as defined by the ICMJE criteria.
Authorship Requirements
Each listed author must satisfy all four of the following conditions:
- Substantial Contribution: Conception or design of the work; or the
acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
- Critical Intellectual Engagement: Drafting the work or revising it
critically for important intellectual content.
- Final Approval: Approval of the final version to be published.
- Accountability: Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the
work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of
any part are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Unacceptable Authorship Practices
- Ghost Authorship: The omission of individuals who made significant
contributions to the research or writing, which obscures true
accountability.
- Guest Authorship: The inclusion of individuals based solely on
their seniority, position, or influence, despite a lack of meaningful
intellectual contribution.
- Honorary Authorship: Awarding authorship to individuals to enhance
the perceived credibility or prestige of the work, rather than based
on their scholarly input.
Protocol for Authorship Changes
Requests for changes to the author list (additions, removals,
reordering) after initial submission are scrutinized heavily. They
require:
- Unanimous Written Consent: A signed statement or email from every
author named in the original and proposed new list, explicitly
agreeing to the change.
- Compelling Justification: A detailed, credible explanation for the
requested change (e.g., an oversight in initial attribution, a
re-evaluation of contributions).
- Corresponding Author Validation: The corresponding author must
initiate the request and attest to its validity and the agreement of
all co-authors.
