Comparison of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Authorship Guidelines Among Medical and Dental Professionals

Abstract

Aim and Objectives: Inappropriate authorship is a threat to the integrity of scientific publication. Although many journals have authorship guidelines, there may be a gap between knowledge of authorship criteria and practice. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the knowledge, attitude, and practice of authorship guidelines among medical and dental professionals. Material and Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study was carried out using Google Survey after obtaining approval from our University Ethics Committee. The knowledge, attitude, and practice of dental and medical faculty towards authorship were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. The corresponding authors of original articles published in 4 medical and 4 dental journals from 2014 to 2016 were sent an e-mail with a link to an electronic survey containing a questionnaire. Voluntariness, privacy, and confidentiality were ensured and mentioned in the participation information sheet (PIS). Submission of the survey was construed as informed consent. A total of 541 corresponding authors (medical [n = 275], and dental [n = 269]) were invited to the study, and 207 responded to the survey (medical [n = 104] and dental [n = 103]). Incomplete responses were eliminated (n = 5). The remaining responses (total [n = 202]; medical [n = 100], and dental [n = 102]) were analyzed. Results: The mean scores of knowledge, attitude, and practice of the participants regarding authorship were 6.9 ± 2.02 (scale of 11), 29.13 ± 3.66 (scale of 45) and 6.70 ± 0.08 (scale of 10), respectively. The knowledge of authorship guidelines among medical professionals was significantly higher than that among dental professionals. No statistically significant difference was observed in attitude and practice scores ( P > .05). There was a weak correlation between knowledge with attitude, and practice. There was a weak correlation between the age, gender, number of publications, and different levels of hierarchy with knowledge, attitude, and practice. Conclusions: • Participants had moderate knowledge of, attitude towards, and practice of authorship guidelines. • Researchers should undergo adequate training on authorship guidelines before initiation of a project.