Building consensus on author selection practices for industry-sponsored research: recommendations from an expert task force of medical publication professionals

Abstract

Background

Many biomedical journals follow the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations and criteria for authorship. ICMJE criterion 1 provides the basis for selecting authors according to their substantial contributions to the work reported in the publication. Identifying substantial contributions and their application for author selection can be challenging, especially for multicenter studies with large numbers of investigators and contributors. Contributions are not frequently documented during study conduct and authorship decisions may lack transparency, objectivity, and context.

Methods

The International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) Authorship Task Force surveyed members on authorship practices, reviewed the literature defining substantial contributions to ICMJE criterion 1, and assessed existing tools or algorithms for determining authorship in industry-sponsored research. Contributions were categorized under the four sub-categories of ICMJE criterion 1: study concept and design, acquisition of data, data analysis, and data interpretation.

Results

Survey findings and literature review confirmed the need for clear and consistent interpretation, application, and documentation of ICMJE criterion 1 for transparent decisions about authorship. The Task Force reached consensus on definitions of substantial contributions to be considered when selecting authors of industry-sponsored research. The subsequent recommendations were grouped according to the sub-categories of ICMJE criterion 1. In addition, the Task Force developed recommendations regarding contributions that do not merit authorship designation.

Conclusions

The Task Force recommendations for objective and consistent interpretation of ICMJE criterion 1 will facilitate an author selection process grounded in the core principles of substantial intellectual contribution to the work’s conception or design, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data. While these recommendations are focused on author selection practices for industry-sponsored research, they may be applicable to publications in other areas of scientific and biomedical research.

Keywords:

• Authorship
• substantial contribution
• ICMJE
• ISMPP
• recommendations

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Transparency

Declaration of funding

This paper was not funded. Open Access was supported by ISMPP and the authors’ respective companies.

Declaration of financial/other relationships

MLC is an employee and stockholder of GlaxoSmithKline, SAS and SAN are employees and stockholders of Bristol Myers Squibb, EAW is an employee and stockholder of Pfizer Inc., MBH is an employee and stockholder of Merck & Co., KDM is a former employee and current stockholder of Sanofi. TS is an employee and stockholder of Novo Nordisk. MIK is an employee and stockholder of AstraZeneca.

A reviewer on this paper has disclosed that they are an active member of ISMPP, has served on ISMPP committees with some of the members of this working group and has consulted for some of the co-authors. Another reviewer disclosed that they are an active member of ISMPP but has not worked on anything related to this publication. Another reviewer has also disclosed that they are a member of ISMPP and serves on the Ethics and Standards Committee. Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no other relevant financial relationships or otherwise to disclose.

Author contributions

All authors were involved in the conception and design, analysis and interpretation of the data, drafting of the manuscript and revising it critically for intellectual content, approved the final version for submission, and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Victoria Garcia of Bristol Myers Squibb for graphical support and Jan Søvig Christensen of Novo Nordisk for analytical assistance with the literature search. We are grateful to Robert Matheis, President and CEO of ISMPP, for his enthusiastic support of the Task Force and his professional leadership.