Authorship · Reference

What are the criteria for authorship?

Authorship criteria are the agreed conditions a person must meet to be listed as an author of a research output; the most widely used are the four criteria set out in the ICMJE Recommendations, which an author must satisfy in full.

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The four ICMJE criteria

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends that authorship be based on four criteria. An author should: (1) have made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data; (2) have drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content; (3) have approved the final version to be published; and (4) agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring questions about the accuracy or integrity of any part are appropriately investigated and resolved.

The decisive point is that all four criteria must be met. Contributing data, or funding, or supervision alone does not qualify someone for authorship under this framework — those contributions belong in the acknowledgements or in a contributor-roles statement instead.

Who qualifies and who does not

Under the ICMJE criteria, someone who only acquired funding, only provided materials or general supervision, or only collected data does not meet the bar for authorship by that activity alone. Equally, everyone who does qualify should be listed — denying authorship to a deserving contributor is as much a breach as adding an undeserving one. The ICMJE recommends that those who meet the first criterion should have the opportunity to take part in the review, drafting and final approval of the manuscript so that they can also satisfy the others.

Authorship criteria and CRediT are complementary

Authorship criteria answer who counts as an author; the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) answers what each person did. The ICMJE explicitly notes that CRediT does not resolve the question of how much contribution qualifies someone for authorship — that judgement still rests with the criteria. In practice many journals now ask for both: authors are determined against the criteria, and a CRediT statement records each author’s specific roles. The two work together rather than in competition.

Why criteria matter beyond medicine

Although the ICMJE criteria originated in biomedical publishing, they are now referenced far more widely, and other bodies — COPE, the Council of Science Editors, and publisher-specific policies — set out closely related expectations. Disciplines differ in detail, and the criteria fit some fields better than others, but the underlying principle is near-universal: authorship should reflect a genuine, identifiable intellectual contribution coupled with accountability for the result.

Key facts

At a glance

Framework: ICMJE Recommendations (Vancouver group)
Number: four criteria, all of which must be met
Criterion 1: substantial contribution to conception, design, data or analysis
Criterion 2: drafting or critically revising the work
Criterion 3: approval of the final version
Criterion 4: accountability for the integrity of the whole work

Common questions

FAQ

What are the four ICMJE authorship criteria?+

Substantial contribution to the work; drafting or critically revising it; approving the final version; and agreeing to be accountable for all aspects of the work. An author must satisfy all four criteria, not just one.

Does providing funding make someone an author?+

No. Under the ICMJE criteria, acquiring funding, providing materials, or general supervision alone does not qualify a person for authorship. Such contributions should be recognised in the acknowledgements or a CRediT statement instead.

Is collecting data enough to be an author?+

Not on its own. Data collection can contribute to the first criterion, but the person must also help draft or revise the manuscript, approve the final version, and accept accountability to qualify as an author.

How do authorship criteria relate to CRediT?+

They are complementary. Authorship criteria decide who can be an author; the CRediT taxonomy records what each contributor did. The ICMJE notes that CRediT does not by itself determine who qualifies as an author.

Do the ICMJE criteria apply outside medicine?+

They originated in biomedical publishing but are now widely referenced across disciplines. Other bodies such as COPE and the Council of Science Editors set out closely related expectations, though disciplinary practice varies.

Going deeper