AUTHORS - WHO CONTRIBUTES WHAT

In this issue (see pages 877 to 882) Dr. H. Dele Davies and associates examine how a sample of pediatric department chairs and faculty deans ' offices perceive the involvement of faculty members in medical resea rch. Their findings point to the confusion that surrounds the question of authorship in collaborative research. Dr. Drummond Rennie, deputy editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, has propose d that a complete and descriptive list of ''contributors'' replace aut hor lists and acknowledgements. Slight modifications to the Internatio nal Committee of Medical Journal Editors guidelines on authorship reta in the designation ''author'' and the use of acknowledgements but enco urage the explicit description of each investigator's contribution. Re searchers and editors should continue to explore ways to ensure that c ontributions are published research are clearly and honestly identifie d.