The acknowledgements section thanks people who helped but do not qualify as authors, says what each did, and names only those who agreed in writing. The funding statement is separate: it names every funder in full, gives each grant number, and states what role, if any, the funder had in the study and the decision to publish.
Both sections are short, and both can be checked: by the people named, by funders looking for their grants and by editors comparing them with disclosure forms. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) sets out what each should contain. Where the sections sit in a double-blind submission is covered in how to prepare a manuscript title page.
Who belongs in the acknowledgements section
Anyone who contributed but does not meet all four ICMJE authorship criteria should be acknowledged rather than listed as an author. The line between the two is drawn in who counts as an author. ICMJE names activities that do not earn authorship on their own: acquiring funding, general supervision or administrative support, writing assistance, technical editing, language editing and proofreading.
Say what each person did. ICMJE gives examples such as "collected data", "critically reviewed the study proposal" and "provided and cared for study patients". A large group, such as the investigators at each site, can be acknowledged together under a single heading like "Participating Investigators".
| Contributor | Where it goes | Wording that says what they did |
|---|---|---|
| Research nurse, data manager or site staff | Acknowledgements | "collected data at [site]"; "managed the study database" |
| Laboratory or imaging technician | Acknowledgements | "processed the tissue samples"; "performed the [assay]" |
| Head of department or supervisor | Acknowledgements | "supervised the research group", not "for their support" |
| Clinicians who referred or treated participants | Acknowledgements, individually or as a named group | "provided and cared for study patients" |
| Medical writer, language editor or proofreader | Acknowledgements, with who paid | "edited the manuscript for language, funded by [payer]" |
| AI tool used for writing assistance | Acknowledgements | "[tool] was used to [purpose]; the authors checked all output" |
| Study participants | Acknowledgements, as a group only | "We thank the patients who took part" |
| Funder, sponsor, or supplier of free equipment or drugs | Funding statement | Full name, any grant number, and role |
Get written permission before you name anyone
Being named can look like endorsement of the data and conclusions. For that reason ICMJE advises editors to require the corresponding author to obtain written permission from everyone acknowledged, as its guidance on non-author contributors sets out. Ask before submission, not at proof.
Send each person the exact sentence that will name them, spelled as it will appear, and ask for a reply that agrees or corrects it. Keep the replies with your submission records. A group listing needs agreement from each person on it, and wording changed at revision needs asking again.
Disclose paid writing and editing help, and who paid for it
Writing, technical editing and language editing help is acknowledged by naming the helper, what they did and who paid. The ICMJE disclosure form asks authors to report all support for the present manuscript, and its examples include medical writing alongside funding and study materials.
Be specific about scope. "Edited the English" and "drafted the Methods from the authors' notes" are different contributions, and readers should know which one happened. When a company or sponsor paid for the writing, name the payer in the acknowledgement and report the support on the disclosure form. A paid helper who does not meet all four criteria belongs here. A service that offers a place in the author list is selling authorship instead, as paper mills and authorship for sale explains.
ICMJE also says AI used for writing assistance is reported in the acknowledgements; using AI tools in research writing covers what to record.
What does not belong in the acknowledgements
- Grants and grant numbers. They belong in the funding statement, where editors and funders look.
- Conflicts of interest. A thank-you is not a disclosure. Relationships go in a separate statement, set out in what to declare as a conflict of interest.
- Anything that identifies a patient. No names, initials, hospital numbers or dates of care.
- Thanks with no contribution. "For their support" tells the reader nothing; state the contribution or drop the name.
- Anyone who has not agreed. No reply is not consent.
- Names in the blinded file. In double-blind review the section goes on the title page, which reviewers do not see.
Write a funding statement a funder can trace
ICMJE asks for every source of support for the work, with the sponsor's name. It also asks what role, if any, the sponsor had in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, and writing of the report. Any restrictions on submitting the report should be stated too. If the source had no such involvement, say so, as ICMJE's section on author disclosures and sources of support explains.
Reporting guidelines agree. CONSORT 2025 places funding and conflicts of interest in its open science section (item 5), and STARD 2015 item 30 asks for sources of funding and the role of funders.
Name each funder exactly as it names itself, in full, not as an abbreviation or a department. Copy each grant number character for character from the award letter. Crossref members can deposit funder names, funder IDs and grant numbers with an article's metadata, and that record lets funders track the work they supported. A misspelt name or a wrong digit can break that link.
ICMJE adds that the funding statement should include only direct support of the work described. Support for one author's contribution is reported as such. General institutional support for an author's time is kept apart from direct funding of the study. The same guidance asks whether the authors had access to the study data, and to what extent.
| Situation | What the funding statement should say |
|---|---|
| Several grants | One clause per funder: full name, grant number, and the initials of the author who holds it |
| Free equipment, drugs, devices or software | Who supplied what, and whether the supplier had any role in the study or the manuscript |
| A personal award, not a study grant | The author's initials and what the award covered, such as a fellowship that paid their salary |
| No funding, or salaried time only | That no specific funding was received, and, if so, that the authors' institutions supported their time; never a blank heading |
| A funder with a role | The exact role, such as supplying the study drug or commenting on the draft, and who made the final decision to submit |
Templates for the acknowledgements section, permission request and funding statement
Replace each bracketed slot and delete the lines that do not apply. The target journal's instructions decide the headings and their order.
Permission request (email)
Subject: Acknowledgement in our manuscript "[title]"
Dear [name],
We would like to acknowledge your contribution in our manuscript, which we plan to submit to [journal]. The sentence would read: "We thank [name, degree], [department, institution], for [specific contribution]." Being named may be read as agreement with the paper, so we will include it only with your written permission. Please reply to confirm, or send corrections to the wording or your details.
[your name], corresponding author
Acknowledgements
We thank [name, degree, institution] for [specific contribution], and [name, degree, institution] for [specific contribution]. We thank the [participating investigators / site staff] listed below for [specific contribution]: [names]. We thank the patients who took part in the study. [name, company] provided [writing assistance / language editing] on [which parts of the manuscript], funded by [payer]. [tool name] was used to [purpose]; the authors reviewed and edited all output and take responsibility for the content. Everyone named has given written permission to be acknowledged.
Funding
This work was supported by [funder's full official name] (grant [grant number], to [author initials]) and by [second funder's full official name] (grant [grant number]). [supplier] provided [equipment, drug or software] free of charge. [Or: No specific funding was received for this work; the authors' time was supported by their employing institutions.]
Role of the funder
The funders had no role in study design; data collection, analysis or interpretation; writing of the report; or the decision to submit it for publication. [Or: [funder] [specific role, such as supplying the study drug or commenting on the draft]; the authors had [full / the following] access to the study data and made the final decision to submit.]
Weak and precise versions of the same statements:
| Weak | What is missing | Precise |
|---|---|---|
| "We thank Dr [name] for her support." | The contribution | "We thank Dr [name] for reviewing the statistical analysis plan." |
| "Funded by the Ministry." | The funder's full name and the grant number | "Supported by [funder's full official name], grant [grant number]." |
| "The funder had no role." | Which parts of the work | "The funder had no role in design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing or the decision to submit." |
| "Thanks to the editing service." | The helper, the scope and the payer | "[name] of [company] edited the manuscript for language, paid for by the authors." |
Check both sections again at proof, because names, degrees and grant numbers are easy to mistype. If you find an error in the acknowledgements or funding statement of an article we have published, report the problem to us.