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Annals of African Medicine, Vol. 9, No. 2, April-June, 2010, pp. 105 Letter To Editor Authorship of a research publication Kazeem Adeola Oshikoya Pharmacology Department, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria and Academic Division of Child Health, University of Nottingham, Medical School in Derby, Royal Derby Children’s Hospital, Uttoxeter Road, Derby, DE22 3DT, United Kingdom Correspondence Address: Dr. Kazeem Oshikoya Academic Division of Child Health, University of Nottingham, Medical School in Derby, Royal Derby Children’s Hospital, Uttoxeter Road, Derby, United Kingdom. med_modhospital@yahoo.com Code Number: am10022 PMID: 20587934 DOI: 10.4103/1596-3519.64748 Sir, Kindly permit me to comment on the recent article by Adeleke et al. [1] The authors had reported the antibiogram of bacterial isolates from the urine of children with nephrotic syndrome in Kano, Nigeria without recourse to acknowledging the contribution of the person who performed the microbiological studies. Most readers, like me, would believe that Adeleke and Asani performed this study all alone but considering the fact that both authors are pediatricians, their training in pediatrics may not be detailed enough to enable them to take full responsibilities of a medical microbiologist in a study like this. Most articles are published in peer-reviewed journals in compliance with guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). [2] An 'author' is generally considered to be someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions to a published study. [3] Authorship credit is based on substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content and final approval of the version to be published. [2] All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an acknowledgments section. Such people who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support. [2] By the above definitions, the person who performed the microbiological studies in the work of Adeleke and Asani deserves an authorship position. Authors and editors of peer-reviewed biomedical research journals should realize that transparency in selecting and listing the authors of a study underscores the authenticity of the research which, may likely promote the citation of such work internationally. Moreover, the reputation of the journal is at stake for publishing a work like this. Peer review should not be limited to the content of the manuscript; declaration of authors' contributorship and critical look at the authors' list at the editorial level can surely avert similar occurrence in the future. References
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