Author responsiveness concerns in the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic has resulted in apprehension and numerous inquiries from ISMPP members over the past several weeks. To address these unprecedented circumstances, ISMPP convened a consensus panel of experts to develop an Official Guidance related to byline authorship of peer-review publications and congress presentations, to be referenced in situations when author responsiveness has been affected specifically due to COVID-19.
The overall purpose of the Guidance is to propose recommendations to medical publication professionals that “preserve the proper attribution of researchers to scholarly work” when there has been “a bona fide and substantial contribution to the research” by an author, and when there is also “a reasonable rationale to believe that coronavirus disease has contributed to a state of non-responsiveness or inability to complete authorship duties.”
“Ultimately, the Society’s objective is to provide support to medical publication professionals in managing authorship situations they are currently facing that are affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic.”
Robert J. Matheis, ISMPP President and CEO
“In their discussions, the expert panel emphasized that the Guidance ‘is not intended to diminish the integrity of well-established ICMJE [International Committee of Medical Journal Editors] criteria for authorship’ and should only be referenced as a guidance in limited circumstances directly related to author non-responsiveness due to COVID-19,” explained Robert Matheis, ISMPP President and CEO. “Ultimately, the Society’s objective is to provide support to medical publication professionals in managing authorship situations they are currently facing that are affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic.”
The “ISMPP Official Guidance on Authorship of Peer-review Publications in Which Coronavirus Disease Has Impacted Author Responsiveness,” which was approved by the ISMPP Board of Trustees, is accessible on the ISMPP website to members and the general public at www.ismpp.org/position-statements-and-guidances.
ISMPP would like to sincerely thank the following individuals on the consensus panel for their valuable contributions and prompt attention to the development of the Official Guidance: Stephanie Brown, Michelle Carfagno, Susan Hannah, Carolyn Hustad, Meera Kodukulla, Avishek Pal, Merry Saba, Sonia Schweers, Beth Whann, and Robert Matheis.