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It is the responsibility of every person listed as the author of an article published in the Journal to have contributed in a meaningful and identifiable way to the design, performance, analysis, and reporting of the work. The specific requirements for authorship promulgated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which have been adopted by many biomedical journals, are posted on its Web site at http://www.icmje.org. By extension of this reasoning, it is logical that those who meet the criteria for authorship not be excluded as authors. However, our current editorial policy limits to 12 the number of authors whose names can be printed under the title of an article.¹ With advances in medical research, investigators with a broader range of skills than were required in the past are often needed to take new ideas from the bench to the bedside and to conduct large clinical trials. For this reason, we are modifying our policy on the number of authors we will list. Beginning with this issue of the Journal, we will no longer place a limit on the number of authors listed under the title.

As in the past, our policy is that all persons listed as authors must meet the ICMJE requirements for authorship. In keeping with the tradition of scientific trust, we do not ask that the specific contributions of individual authors be reported to us. It is instead the duty of the corresponding author to ensure that each of the authors listed meets the necessary criteria; before an article is published, we will require a written statement from the corresponding author to this effect. If we are concerned about the authorship of an article, we will discuss the matter with the corresponding author and, if necessary, request written documentation of authorship. The names of persons who have contributed substantially to a study but who do not fulfill the criteria for authorship will be listed in an appendix.

This change in policy applies to articles that contain original data, including Original Articles and Special Articles. In contrast, for review articles and editorials, in which we are seeking analysis and opinion from acknowledged experts in a field, we will, at our discretion, place limits on the number of authors.

We are indebted to the investigators whose research reports form the core of the Journal each week. Our change in policy will allow those who participate meaningfully in a research project to receive the credit they deserve.

Jeffrey M. Drazen, M.D.
Gregory D. Curfman, M.D.

References

1. Kassirer JP, Angell M. On authorship and acknowledgments. N Engl J Med 1991;325:1510-1512. [Web of Science][Medline]

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