Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

Honestly recognizing the true scholarly contributions to an article is essential for the accurate recording of intellectual property and for declaring authors’ accountability and responsibility for the content. All authors of a published work are to be fully accountable for its content, but certain authors—specifically the first and last of the listed authors—are even more so than all others. Well-regarded international guidelines exist to help with the determination of who meets the criteria to be recognized as an author, a contributor, or a collaborator,1,2 and these are widely adopted by scientific and specialty journals around the globe, including Cancer Nursing: An International Journal for Cancer Care. Diligent, consistent adherence to the ethics of authorship helps to ensure that credit is given where credit is due among authors.