Differences in roles and status compound the difficulties of according credit. Junior scholars may seek to gain automatic acceptance of their work by associating it with the name of an established scholar. This practice leads to an uncritical and inappropriate acceptance by other co-authors, the reviewers, or the readers. Authors should be responsible for obtaining written permission from all persons being acknowledged by name. Technical help should be acknowledged in a separate paragraph from those acknowledging intellectual contributions.
Authors have an obligation to use journal space wisely and efficiently.
Including extensive and repetitious lists of acknowledgments is not a good use of journal space and is of little value to the readers of a journal. Unlimited lists undermine the meaning of authorship and the value of an acknowledgment. Authors should make a full statement to the editor of the journal at the time of submission about all submissions and prior reports that might be regarded as redundant publication. The editor should also be made aware of any subjects that may be mentioned in the manuscript about whom a previous report has been published. The preliminary communication should be cited in the manuscript.