To the Editor: Ms Flanagin and colleagues1 described THE JOURNAL's criteria for authorship for research groups. Studies done by research groups from multiple sites often lead to superior results because of the ability to recruit a larger sample size and the enhanced generalizability of the results. Such studies require the combined efforts of many coinvestigators from multiple sites. These coinvestigators oversee the development of the study at their individual sites including the subject recruitment, administration of the intervention, data collection, data entry, and in many cases, review and critique of the manuscript. Nonetheless, some coinvestigators may not meet the criteria for authorship described by Flanagin et al.
Furthermore, many other journals limit their bylines to a total of only 6 authors. Thus, it must be determined how to acknowledge the efforts of coinvestigators who are not among the primary authors. For coinvestigators in academic settings, such documentation is critical for professional advancement. Likewise, the survival and success of research networks depends on maintaining members' continued involvement and commitment. Traditionally, this has involved the possibility of authorship with its resulting professional recognition.
There appears to be no consensus, however, on how coinvestigators should document their involvement if they are not listed as authors. One possibility would be to list authorship by primary authors and network name. The contributing network coinvestigators' names and institutions would appear in the acknowledgment, thus allowing recognition on the curriculum vitae (CV). As an alternative, it might be possible to establish a specific category on the CV describing participation in multisite studies or research groups. Unfortunately, some institutions might not recognize such a category.
As more multisite studies and research networks develop, we believe a standard must be established to document coinvestigators' involvement in research. This would allow appropriate recognition of this scholarly work by promotion committees.
Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature
Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal
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