Research Publications, Authorship, and Funding Transparency

NIH Authorship Requirements & the Stevens Amendment

The Office of Research Compliance & Regulatory Affairs (RCRA) provides guidance to help researchers, faculty, communications professionals, and administrators navigate federal requirements related to publication transparency, authorship, affiliations, collaborations, and funding disclosures. Recent national discussions have highlighted the importance of coordinating research integrity, research security, and communications efforts to ensure accurate representation of federally funded research.  

Why It Matters

Both NIH authorship expectations and the Stevens Amendment promote transparency by ensuring that: 

  • Authors and affiliations are accurately represented.
  • Funding sources are appropriately acknowledged.
  • Research collaborations are transparently disclosed.
  • Public-facing communications align with published research.

NIH Authorship & Publication Considerations

Click the image for the full quick reference infographic

Before publishing or communicating research results, researchers should ensure:

✓ Author affiliations are complete and accurate 

✓ Collaborators and participating institutions are appropriately represented 

✓ Funding acknowledgments are included when required 

✓ Publication information accurately reflects the research conducted 

Stevens Amendment Considerations

The Stevens Amendment requires disclosure of federal funding support in certain public-facing communications involving federally funded activities.

Examples may include:

  • Press releases 
  • Research news stories 
  • Websites highlighting federally funded projects 
  • Social media posts referencing sponsored activities 
  • Event materials 
  • Videos and promotional content 
  • Program announcements 

For shorter communications where the full disclosure or author/collaborator list is not feasible (ex. social media posts or general articles that briefly reference several studies), include a link/reference to the publication or press release where the required disclosure can be found.

For Communications Teams

Click the image for the full quick reference infographic

Before Publishing:

✓ Was the work supported by a federal award? 

✓ Has the appropriate funding agency been identified?

✓ Is required funding attribution included?

✓ Has the research team confirmed award information? 

✓ Has Research Compliance/Research Administration been consulted when funding disclosure requirements are unclear?

Standard Disclosure Statements

Funding Disclosure(Researchers):

This work was supported, in whole or in part, by funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and/or other federal sponsors. The content presented reflects the work of the authors and contributors and is intended to accurately represent the affiliations, funding sources, and collaborative contributions associated with the research. All applicable sponsor acknowledgment and disclosure requirements have been followed. 

  • For NIH funded research (NOT-OD-26-084): Recipients are required to state (1) the percentage and dollar amounts of the total program or project costs financed with Federal money and (2) for NIH programs requiring cost sharing, the dollar amount of the total costs financed by non-governmental sources (i.e., percentage and dollar amount of support from federal and non-federal sources). In general, NIH programs do not have a legislative requirement for cost-saving. Any cost-sharing requirements will be outlined in the NOFO.

Research Funding and Authorship Disclosure(Communications Teams):

This research was supported by federal funding through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and/or other sponsoring agencies. Author affiliations, collaborator contributions, and funding acknowledgments have been reviewed to promote transparency and compliance with applicable sponsor requirements, including publication and public communication disclosure obligations. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Although they arise from different federal requirements, both focus on transparency and accuracy in communicating federally funded research. Together, they help ensure publications, news stories, websites, and other public communications accurately reflect research contributors, institutional affiliations, and funding sources.

NIH authorship requirements are generally associated with journal publications. However, Stevens Amendment considerations may extend to a variety of public-facing materials, including websites, media announcements, presentations, and promotional content.

It is acceptable in such cases to use links or references to journals where the required information is disclosed.

Researchers, faculty, communications professionals, and departments are encouraged to contact Research Compliance & Regulatory Affairs (RCRA) (researchsecurity@emory.edu) for guidance when questions arise regarding authorship disclosures, funding acknowledgments, collaborations, or publication transparency requirements.

Only NIH awards that directly supported the work being reported should be acknowledged. Investigators should not cite awards that did not contribute to the research described in the publication, presentation, or news release. When multiple awards contributed, all relevant awards may be listed, along with the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. NIH guidance emphasizes accurate attribution and discourages citing awards that did not support the reported work.

Additional Resources

NSF Secure Center - Authorship Toolbox

These downloadable resources were developed to support navigating compliance with federal authorship guidlines.

  • Authorship Checklist - Guide for manuscript submissions, publication reviews, routine research security monitoring, and/or sponsor inquiries.
  • Authorship Fact Sheet - Authorship research security & risk awareness
  • Authorship Quick Reference Guide - Outlines where authorship-related information should be disclosed to ensure consistency across journals, sponsors, and institutional systems.

Questions regarding publications, authorship, collaborations, or funding disclosures may be directed to the Research Compliance & Regulatory Affairs (RCRA) at researchsecurity@emory.edu for assistance.