Research publication acknowledgement practice: guidance for authors

To assist funders to effectively track the outputs of research to which they have contributed, either wholly or in part, it is important that investigators clearly acknowledge all relevant funders in research publications.

It is important that all authors on a research publication liaise with the corresponding author(s) to ensure that funder attribution(s) are listed correctly.

As a guide, it is suggested that the following standard text, and reference to associated grant number, is included in the relevant funding or acknowledgement section in any published work. Please be sure to check the instructions for authors for the relevant publication for further details on how to acknowledge funders and grants.

Acknowledgements should follow these guidelines:

• funding agency written out in full
• grant number in square brackets
• multiple grant numbers separated by comma and space
• agencies separated by semi-colon.

Example 1

'This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust [grant number].'

Example 2

If more than one funder or grant was involved, then the suggested text is:

'This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust [grant number], [grant number]; Cancer Research UK [grant number]; another funder [grant number]; etc.'

If you have any queries on this practice, please contact the relevant funder(s).

The acknowledgement of Wellcome Trust funding follows the recommendations laid out in the Research Information Network's 'Acknowledgment of Funders in Scholarly Journal Articles'.