Authorship in AJSM has evolved over 20 years to include larger research groups, more international and academic contributions, and increased participation by nonphysicians and students.
Clinicians should note shifting authorship when appraising AJSM evidence; leaves open effects on research quality and collaboration.
Within the past 2 decades, there has been a significant increase in the average number of authors per article in AJSM, as well as a higher proportion of international groups and academic institutions publishing in the journal. More nonphysicians are publishing in AJSM, with a significantly higher percentage of first authors with a bachelor's degree as their highest degree. This is likely due to a combination of a general increased interest in research as well as increased competition among medical students. These factors have likely led to larger research groups and thus a significantly higher average number of authors per article.
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Schrock et al. (2016) studied this question.