Academia and Clinic Annals of Internal Medicine Method for Establishing Authorship in a Multicenter Clinical Trial

Abstract

With the emergence of large multicenter trials over the past 20 years, the numbers of investigators involved and publica- tions resulting from each study have grown exponentially. An efficient, fair, and effective way to establish authorship on study-related manuscripts could diminish conflict among the investigators and help ensure robust and timely dissemination of study results. This article describes a process developed by the investigators in the HF-ACTION (Heart Failure: A Con- trolled Trial Investigating Outcomes of Exercise Training) trial (ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT00047437) to es- tablish authorship of the manuscripts describing the baseline characteristics, study design, and trial outcomes in an equita- ble and transparent manner based on objective, quantifiable contributions to the study as a whole. The HF-ACTION in- vestigators developed a scoring system that assigned points to investigators by using the criteria established for enrollment, adherence to the exercise program, data completion, commit- tee service, and other trial efforts. The scoring system has been successfully implemented for baseline manuscripts and has allowed many investigators to participate in the HF- ACTION publication process.