An additional issue that falls within the scope of USGS report policy is that of authorship. Reports can have multiple authors with the authors' names listed typically in the order of their level of effort in the preparation of the report. To be listed as an author, one should have been substantially involved in that preparation. Participation in a project through data collection, laboratory analysis, data management, or general supervision or advice provided are not, in and of themselves, sufficient basis for inclusion in the list of authors. Listing of more than four authors in a USGS report should be done only rarely and with strong justification.
Many people contribute ideas and effort to a study and ultimately to the report.
Acknowledgments, and in some cases, reference to written or oral communications, are appropriate forms of recognition for these many contributors. Most scientific reports contain a table of contents that summarizes the report content in the form of an outline of section and subsection titles. This outline indicates the organization of the report and thus the logical argument or series of steps used to present the data and observations, to analyze and interpret that information, and to reach a conclusion. The first-order headings in the table of contents should reflect the major concepts or key words in the report title. Headings limit the content of the text that follows, and in USGS reports should describe those contents.