Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14279/2752
Title: | Inflated numbers of authors over time have not been just due to increasing research complexity |
Authors: | Papatheodorou, Stefania Trikalinos, Thomas A. Ioannidis, John P. A. |
Major Field of Science: | Medical and Health Sciences |
Field Category: | Other Medical Sciences |
Keywords: | Author;Authorship;Case reports;Ethics;Nonrandomized studies;Randomized trials |
Issue Date: | Jun-2008 |
Source: | Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 2008, vol. 61, iss. 6, pp. 546-551 |
Volume: | 61 |
Issue: | 6 |
Start page: | 546 |
End page: | 551 |
Journal: | Journal of Clinical Epidemiology |
Abstract: | Objective: To examine trends in and determinants of the number of authors in clinical studies. Study Design and Setting: We analyzed determinants of the number of authors in 633 articles of randomized trials and 313 articles of nonrandomized studies included in large meta-analyses (seven and six topics, respectively). Analyses were adjusted for topic. We also evaluated 310 randomly sampled case reports that had an abstract and described a single case. Results: After adjusting for topic and other determinants, for both randomized trials and nonrandomized studies, the number of authors increased by 0.8 per decade (P < 0.001). Topic was a strong determinant of the number of authors; other independent factors included journal impact factor, multinational authorship, and (for randomized trials) article length and sample size. Trials from South Europe (+1.1 authors) and North America (+0.9) and nonrandomized studies from South Europe (+1.8) had more authors than studies from North Europe (P < 0.001). For case reports, only geographic location and article length were significantly related with author numbers. Conclusion: The number of authors in articles of randomized and nonrandomized studies has increased over time, even after adjusting for the topic, size, and visibility of a study. The academic coinage of authorship may be suffering from inflation. |
URI: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14279/2752 |
ISSN: | 18785921 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.07.017 |
Rights: | © Elsevier |
Type: | Article |
Affiliation : | University of Ioannina Tufts University |
Publication Type: | Peer Reviewed |
Appears in Collections: | Άρθρα/Articles |
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