KONSİLGlossary · Publication and ethics
What are the ICMJE authorship criteria?
The ICMJE authorship criteria require a person to meet all four conditions to be listed as an author: a substantial contribution to the work, drafting it or revising it critically, final approval of the version to be published, and accountability for all aspects of the work.
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) bases authorship on four criteria: (1) a substantial contribution to the study’s conception or design, or to acquiring, analysing or interpreting its data; (2) writing the draft or revising it critically for important intellectual content; (3) giving final approval to the version to be published; and (4) agreeing to be accountable for every aspect of the work, so that questions about accuracy or integrity are properly investigated and resolved. Everyone named as an author should meet all four, and everyone who meets all four should be named.
People who meet fewer than four are acknowledged instead, with their contributions specified. Activities that alone do not qualify include acquiring funding, general supervision of a research group, general administrative support, and writing assistance, technical or language editing and proofreading. The ICMJE says chatbots and other AI-assisted tools should not be listed as authors, because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity and originality of the work. Use of AI is disclosed, and humans remain responsible.
CRediT does not decide authorship. ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022 states that CRediT roles define contributorship, not authorship, and that a person can hold a CRediT role without meeting the requirements for authorship.
Example
In a hypothetical study, a department head who only secured funding and supervised the group in general is acknowledged, not listed as an author. A resident who analysed the data, revised the draft critically, approved the final version and accepted accountability for the work meets all four criteria and is an author.
A point to watch
A single contribution, such as collecting data or finding funding, or a CRediT role is not enough for authorship. The ICMJE recommendations are written for ICMJE member journals and many other journals adopt them voluntarily, so authors must also follow each journal’s instructions.
Related terms
Guides and tools
Sources
- ICMJE Recommendations II.A Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors — ICMJE
- ICMJE Recommendations V.A Use of AI by Authors — ICMJE
- ICMJE Recommendations I.B Who Should Use the Recommendations? — ICMJE
- ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022, CRediT, Contributor Roles Taxonomy, section 3.2 — NISO, 2022
- CRediT: How to implement CRediT — NISO / CRediT