Authorship trends over the past fifty years in the Journal of the Danish Medical Association (Danish: Ugeskrift for Læger).

INTRODUCTION

Internationally, the number of authors per scientific article is increasing. The objective of this study was to determine authorship trends over the past fifty years in Ugeskrift for Læger (UfL).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

From 1960 to 2010, ten volumes of the UfL, 5,962 articles in total, were studied. For each article, category and number of authors were recorded.

RESULTS

The median number of authors per article (all categories) was one in 1960 (range 1-3), two in 1985 (range 1-9) and three in 2010 (range 1-14). The proportion of articles published by three or more authors constituted 1% in 1960 and 68% in 2010. For original articles, the median number of authors per article was two in 1960 (range 1-3), three in 1985 (range 1-9) and three in 2010 (range 1-9). For reviews, the median number of authors per article was one in 1960 (range 1-2), two in 1985 (range 1-5) and three in 2010 (range 1-14). For case reports, the median number of authors per article was one in 1960 (range 1-2), two in 1985 (range 1-5) and three in 2010 (range 1-6).

CONCLUSION

The number of authors per article increased for all types of articles published in the UfL. This could reflect increases in "gift authorship", but "multiple authorship" could also be fully legitimate. Replacing or supplementing authorship criteria with contribution statements would provide some transparency and accountability. Yet, questions about credit assessment and overall responsibility need to be clarified.

FUNDING

not relevant.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

not relevant.