Authorship vs Acknowledgement in Article Writing: Deciding Who, When, Where, and Why

By John Frey MD  /  Posted 11/21/2025

Decision about authorship should not happen at the time writing an article. I have seen too many examples of hurt feelings and worse - unethical demands by senior faculty members who were only peripherally involved with the research if conditions for authorship are not defined. Ghost authorship is on the rise, guest authorship has always been a problem and senior faculty with hundreds of pubs usually get there by being a guest Decision about who will be an author, what will be required of them, and agreeing on the timing of the process should all be decided at the outset of a research project, The first author is often, as you say, in charge of the process. But deciding early helps avoid academic tragedy. The ICMJE guidelines for authorship should always be followed. Being thanked through an acknowledgement is nice to see.