Scientific papers are often a labor of love, resulting from months (or even years) of hard work and research. Most of these papers, though, are not a single person’s work—a team of people help in the research or the preparation of the manuscript. And while major contributors are given the status of ‘author’, there are many other people and associations—such as administrators, laboratory staff, funding bodies, ethical committees, advisories, and language editors—who contribute to the making of a paper.

The clearest criteria for authorship are, perhaps, given by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Journals in any field typically follow these criteria. According of the ICMJE guidelines, an author must meet all of the following criteria. They must have:

• Substantially contributed to the design and development of the study or the gathering and analysis of data

• Helped draft or critically revise the paper for its scientific content

• Provided final approval before publication

• Agreed to be accountable for the work