Survey of fulfilment of criteria for authorship in published medical research

Abstract

I sent a questionnaire to the first authors of all research papers that had three or seven or more authors and were published in five consecutive issues of a peer reviewed general medical journal in 1993. The questionnaire listed 16 types of contribution towards setting up a study and submitting the results for publication without indicating their importance in satisfying the international criteria for authorship; it asked the first author to tick what each of the coauthors had contributed and assured confidentiality. The table shows the contributions and whether they fulfil the criteria.