Authorship in manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals: An author’s position and its value

Abstract

Although previously discussed and tested in application, 1 Uniform Requirements 2 exist to acknowledge the contribution of authors to research articles with multiple authorship, while criteria to establish and rate an author’s position in the byline are still lacking. This is especially important in those situations in which the author order is quantitatively considered for annual reports of investigator activity (mandatory in some states of the European Union). It is also used to gain promotion, grants, approbation of professional and scientific societies, to pass public examinations for governmental and academic responsibilities, or for applying for staff posts in a research institute. A recent proposal to assess author position in the byline suggested attributing a decreasing value (from 100 to 50) to the first author of a scientific paper, when other authors are present. 3 We disagree with the concept that multiple authorship has to be associated with a dilution of the meaning of authorship. Rather, we believe that the increased number of authors per article, observed in the last decades, reflects the multidisciplinary character of current research which involves many different scientists because of the interdisciplinary nature of the investigations. Biomedical journals, especially those with higher impact factors, should know that limiting authorship can be a way to favor “honorary authorship” at the expense of ghost authorship. Within this context, in many countries projects are financed on the basis of the principle investigator’s curriculum vitae and list of publications. For these latter, position in the byline is also considered. It is apparent that the probability of receiving funding is higher when the applicant is a renowned investigator, and the provision of funds is the first essential step of scientific research. On the other hand, it has to be acknowledged that heads of laboratories, groups and departments usually supervise several lines of investigation at one time. Thus, they generally preside over the first and