ICMJE Criteria for Authorship

1. Introduction and Governing Body

The designation of authorship in biomedical research and journal publications is governed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authorship confers academic credit and implies distinct ethical, academic, and financial accountability for the published work.

2. The Four Mandatory ICMJE Criteria

To qualify as an author, an individual must meet ALL FOUR of the following criteria simultaneously. Meeting only one, two, or three criteria is insufficient for authorship.

1. Substantial Contribution: Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; OR the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
2. Drafting or Critical Revision: Drafting the work OR reviewing and revising it critically for important intellectual content.
3. Final Approval: Final approval of the specific version of the manuscript to be published.
4. Accountability: Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

3. Responsibilities of Specific Author Roles

• Corresponding Author: * Acts as the primary point of contact with the editorial office during the submission, peer review, and publication process.
  • Responsible for ensuring all administrative requirements (authorship details, ethics committee approvals, clinical trial registrations, conflict of interest disclosures) are properly completed.
  • Expected to be available post-publication to respond to critiques, data sharing requests, and queries.
• First Author: Typically the researcher who performed the bulk of the experimental work/data collection and drafted the manuscript.
• Senior (Last) Author: Often the principal investigator, unit head, or mentor who provided the overarching research vision, funding, and critical supervision.

4. Contributors Who Do Not Qualify for Authorship (Acknowledgments)

Individuals who contribute to the research but do not meet all four ICMJE criteria should not be listed as authors. Their contributions must be detailed in the Acknowledgments section (with their written permission). Examples include:

• Acquisition of Funding: Securing the grant without participating in the research design or data analysis.
• General Supervision: Simply being the Head of the Department (HOD) or providing general administrative oversight of the research group.
• Administrative/Technical Support: Providing laboratory space, routine technical assistance, data entry, or patient recruitment without intellectual contribution.
• Writing Assistance: Professional medical writers, copyeditors, or language editors.

5. Modern Frameworks: CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy)

Many high-impact journals now mandate the use of the CRediT taxonomy to bring transparency to authorship. Authors must declare their specific roles from 14 recognized categories:

• Conceptualization
• Methodology
• Software
• Validation
• Formal analysis
• Investigation
• Resources
• Data Curation
• Writing - Original Draft
• Writing - Review & Editing
• Visualization
• Supervision
• Project administration
• Funding acquisition

6. Unacceptable / Unethical Authorship Practices

• Ghost Authorship: Omitting an individual who made substantial contributions (often professional medical writers employed by pharmaceutical companies or junior residents who did the actual work).
• Gift (Honorary) Authorship: Including an individual who made no substantial contribution, often out of obligation, respect, or power dynamics (e.g., routinely including the department head).
• Guest Authorship: Including a highly respected researcher solely to increase the manuscript's chances of acceptance.

7. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Authorship

• Current Guideline: AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Large Language Models) cannot be listed as authors.
• Rationale: AI cannot fulfill the fourth ICMJE criterion (accountability). An AI cannot take ethical or legal responsibility for the integrity of the data, nor can it hold copyright or declare conflicts of interest.
• Usage: If AI is used in drafting or data analysis, its use must be transparently declared in the Methods or Acknowledgments section.