Acknowledgement World

Acknowledgement in Research Paper – A Quick Guide [5 Examples]

The acknowledgement section in your research paper is where you thank those who have helped or supported you throughout your research and writing. It is a short section of 3-5 paragraphs or no more than 300 words you put on a page after the title page.

In this post, we are going to provide you with five examples of acknowlegdement section and a handful of best practices you can make your work look professional.

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Saying thank you with style

How to write an acknowledgement: the complete guide for students, why should i include an acknowledgement in my research paper.

Acknowledging assistance and contributions from others can establish your integrity as a researcher. This will eventually make your work more credible.

What should be acknowledged about (aka thankful for)?

In your acknowledgement, you can show gratitude for those who provide you with resources in the following area:

  • Technical help may include people who helped you by providing materials and supplies.
  • Intellectual help includes academic advice and assistance.
  • Mental help can be any kind of verbal support and encouragement.
  • Financial support that is obviously related to monetary support

Who should be included in the acknowledgement of a research paper?

You can include everyone who helped you technically, intellectually, or financially (assistance with grants or monetary help) in the process of researching and writing your research paper. Except for your family and friends, you should always include the full names with the title of these individuals:

  • Your profession, supervisor, or teacher
  • Academic staff (e.g. lab assistant) of your school/college
  • Your department, faculty, college, or school
  • Classmates, teammates, co-workers, or colleague
  • Friends and family members

You can start with your professor or the individuals who supported you the most throughout the research. And then you can continue by thanking your institution and then the reviewer who reviewed your paper. Then you can thank your friends and families and any other individual who helped.

What is the tone of the acknowledgement in a research paper?

You should write your acknowledgement in formal language with complete sentences. It is appropriate to write in the first person (‘I’ for a single author or ‘we’ for two or more).

Note that  personal pronouns  such as ‘I, my, me …’ are nearly always used in the acknowledgements only. For the rest of the research paper, such  personal pronouns  are generally avoided.

Writing an acknowledgement for research paper is one of the important parts of your project report. You need to thank everyone for  helping you with your paper . Here are some examples of acknowledgement for your research paper.

Acknowledgement in Research Paper: Example 1

Acknowledgement in research paper: example 2, acknowledgement in research paper: example 3, acknowledgement in research paper: example 4, acknowledgement in research paper: example 5.

You can use these or try to create your own version for your project report. Also, you can use our auto  acknowledgement generator tool  to automatically generate acknowledgement for your project.

Where should I put the acknowledgement section?

The acknowledgements section should appear between your title page and your introduction in your research paper.

How long is an acknowledgement in a research paper?

The acknowledgement section (usualy inserted as a page) of your research paper should consist of 3-5 paragraphs or no more than 300 words you put on a page after the title page.

Should I use the full names of family members in an acknowledgement?

You do not necessarily need to use the full name for your family and friends (it would sound pretty awkward to use the full name of your parent or spouse right?), you should always include the full names with the title for all other individuals in your acknowledgement.

Can I use “first person” in an acknowledgement?

Yes. It is appropriate to write in the first person (‘I’ for a single author or ‘we’ for two or more).

What is an acknowledgement in academic writing?

An acknowledgement is a page is where you show appreciation to people who helped or supported you intellectually, mentally, or financially in your academic writing.

It should be no longer than one page.

how to write acknowledgement in research article

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“Acknowledgement” vs “Acknowledgment”… …what the hack?

how to write acknowledgement in research article

Both “acknowledgement” and “acknowledgment” are used in the English-speaking world. However, acknowledgement with the “e” in the middle is more commonly used. It is up to 24.5 times more popular in the top 5 English-speaking countries in the world.

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How-to Guides on Academic Writing and Others

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  • Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples

Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples

Published on May 3, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on July 18, 2023.

Acknowledgements-section

The acknowledgements section is your opportunity to thank those who have helped and supported you personally and professionally during your thesis or dissertation process.

Thesis or dissertation acknowledgements appear between your title page and abstract  and should be no longer than one page.

In your acknowledgements, it’s okay to use a more informal style than is usually permitted in academic writing , as well as first-person pronouns . Acknowledgements are not considered part of the academic work itself, but rather your chance to write something more personal.

To get started, download our step-by-step template in the format of your choice below. We’ve also included sample sentence starters to help you construct your acknowledgments section from scratch.

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Table of contents

Who to thank in your acknowledgements, how to write acknowledgements, acknowledgements section example, acknowledgements dos and don’ts, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about the acknowledgements section.

Generally, there are two main categories of acknowledgements: professional and personal .

A good first step is to check your university’s guidelines, as they may have rules or preferences about the order, phrasing, or layout of acknowledgements. Some institutions prefer that you keep your acknowledgements strictly professional.

Regardless, it’s usually a good idea to place professional acknowledgements first, followed by any personal ones. You can then proceed by ranking who you’d like to thank from most formal to least.

  • Chairs, supervisors, or defense committees
  • Funding bodies
  • Other academics (e.g., colleagues or cohort members)
  • Editors or proofreaders
  • Librarians, research/laboratory assistants, or study participants
  • Family, friends, or pets

Typically, it’s only necessary to mention people who directly supported you during your thesis or dissertation. However, if you feel that someone like a high school physics teacher was a great inspiration on the path to your current research, feel free to include them as well.

Professional acknowledgements

It is crucial to avoid overlooking anyone who helped you professionally as you completed your thesis or dissertation. As a rule of thumb, anyone who directly contributed to your research process, from figuring out your dissertation topic to your final proofread, should be mentioned.

A few things to keep in mind include:

  • Even if you feel your chair didn’t help you very much, you should still thank them first to avoid looking like you’re snubbing them.
  • Be sure to follow academic conventions, using full names with titles where appropriate.
  • If several members of a group or organization assisted you, mention the collective name only.
  • Remember the ethical considerations around anonymized data. If you wish to protect someone’s privacy, use only their first name or a generic identifier (such as “the interviewees”)/

Personal acknowledgements

There is no need to mention every member of your family or friend group. However, if someone was particularly inspiring or supportive, you may wish to mention them specifically. Many people choose to thank parents, partners, children, friends, and even pets, but you can mention anyone who offered moral support or encouragement, or helped you in a tangible or intangible way.

Some students may wish to dedicate their dissertation to a deceased influential person in their personal life. In this case, it’s okay to mention them first, before any professional acknowledgements.

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After you’ve compiled a list of who you’d like to thank, you can then sort your list into rank order. Separate everyone you listed into “major thanks,” “big thanks,” and “minor thanks” categories.

  • “Major thanks” are given to people who your project would be impossible without. These are often predominantly professional acknowledgements, such as your advisor, chair, and committee, as well as any funders.
  • “Big thanks” are an in-between, for those who helped you along the way or helped you grow intellectually, such as classmates, peers, or librarians.
  • “Minor thanks” can be a catch-all for everyone else, especially those who offered moral support or encouragement. This can include personal acknowledgements, such as parents, partners, children, friends, or even pets.

How to phrase your acknowledgements

To avoid acknowledgements that sound repetitive or dull, consider changing up your phrasing. Here are some examples of common sentence starters you can use for each category.

Note that you do not need to write any sort of conclusion or summary at the end. You can simply end the acknowledgements with your last thank you.

Here’s an example of how you can combine the different sentences to write your acknowledgements.

A simple construction consists of a sentence starter (in purple highlight ), followed by the person or entity mentioned (in green highlight ), followed by what you’re thanking them for (in yellow highlight .)

Acknowledgements

Words cannot express my gratitude to my professor and chair of my committee for her invaluable patience and feedback. I also could not have undertaken this journey without my defense committee, who generously provided knowledge and expertise. Additionally, this endeavor would not have been possible without the generous support from the MacArthur Foundation, who financed my research .

I am also grateful to my classmates and cohort members, especially my office mates, for their editing help, late-night feedback sessions, and moral support. Thanks should also go to the librarians, research assistants, and study participants from the university, who impacted and inspired me.

Lastly, I would be remiss in not mentioning my family, especially my parents, spouse, and children. Their belief in me has kept my spirits and motivation high during this process. I would also like to thank my cat for all the entertainment and emotional support.

  • Write in first-person, professional language
  • Thank your professional contacts first
  • Include full names, titles, and roles of professional acknowledgements
  • Include personal or intangible supporters, like friends, family, or even pets
  • Mention funding bodies and what they funded
  • Appropriately anonymize or group research participants or non-individual acknowledgments

Don’t:

  • Use informal language or slang
  • Go over one page in length
  • Mention people who had only a peripheral or minor impact on your work

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In the acknowledgements of your thesis or dissertation, you should first thank those who helped you academically or professionally, such as your supervisor, funders, and other academics.

Then you can include personal thanks to friends, family members, or anyone else who supported you during the process.

Yes, it’s important to thank your supervisor(s) in the acknowledgements section of your thesis or dissertation .

Even if you feel your supervisor did not contribute greatly to the final product, you must acknowledge them, if only for a very brief thank you. If you do not include your supervisor, it may be seen as a snub.

The acknowledgements are generally included at the very beginning of your thesis , directly after the title page and before the abstract .

In a thesis or dissertation, the acknowledgements should usually be no longer than one page. There is no minimum length.

You may acknowledge God in your dissertation acknowledgements , but be sure to follow academic convention by also thanking the members of academia, as well as family, colleagues, and friends who helped you.

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How to Write Acknowledgement for Research Paper (5 Samples)

July 12, 2023

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By Mohsin Khurshid

Writing acknowledgements is an essential part of crafting a comprehensive research paper. It allows you to express gratitude and recognize the contributions of individuals and institutions who have supported your work. In this article, we will delve into the art of writing acknowledgement for research papers, providing you with valuable insights, practical tips, and five sample acknowledgements to guide you in acknowledging the people and resources that have played a significant role in your research journey.

Table of Contents

  • 1 Understanding the Role of Acknowledgements in Research Papers
  • 2 Key Elements of an Effective Acknowledgement
  • 3 10 Tips for Writing an Acknowledgement for a Research Paper
  • 4.1 Sample 1: Acknowledgement for Collaborative Research:
  • 4.2 Sample 2: Acknowledgement for Funding Support:
  • 4.3 Sample 3: Acknowledgement for Mentorship and Guidance:
  • 4.4 Sample 4: Acknowledgement for Institutional Support:
  • 4.5 Sample 5: Acknowledgement for Peer Reviewers:
  • 6 Conclusion

Understanding the Role of Acknowledgements in Research Papers

Acknowledgements serve as a platform to express appreciation and recognize the collective effort that goes into the completion of a research paper. They provide an opportunity to acknowledge the guidance, support, and assistance received throughout the research process. By including acknowledgements, you can demonstrate your gratitude and give credit to those who have contributed to your success.

Key Elements of an Effective Acknowledgement

Crafting an effective acknowledgement involves considering various elements to ensure its sincerity and clarity. It is crucial to mention specific individuals, institutions, and their contributions, while keeping the acknowledgement concise and relevant. By adhering to ethical considerations and cultural norms, you can create an acknowledgement that reflects your gratitude and professionalism.

10 Tips for Writing an Acknowledgement for a Research Paper

  • Be sincere and genuine : Write your acknowledgements with heartfelt gratitude, expressing sincere appreciation for the support and contributions received during your research.
  • Identify specific individuals and institutions: Mention the names of people who have played a significant role in your research, such as mentors, advisors, collaborators, and funding agencies. Also, acknowledge the contributions of institutions that provided resources or facilities.
  • Be concise and focused: Keep your acknowledgements concise and to the point. Focus on the key individuals and organizations that have made a substantial impact on your research.
  • Use a formal tone: Maintain a professional and formal tone throughout your acknowledgements. Remember that this section is a formal acknowledgment of support, not a casual conversation.
  • Follow ethical considerations: Ensure that you acknowledge individuals and organizations according to ethical guidelines and norms. Respect the privacy and confidentiality of individuals who may prefer not to be mentioned.
  • Include personal touches: If appropriate, you can include personal anecdotes or specific instances where individuals or organizations made a significant impact on your research.
  • Tailor acknowledgements to your research context: Consider the nature of your research and tailor your acknowledgements accordingly. For example, if you conducted interdisciplinary research, acknowledge experts from different fields who provided valuable insights.
  • Proofread and edit: Like any other section of your research paper, proofread and edit your acknowledgements for grammar, spelling, and clarity. Ensure that the acknowledgements are well-written and free of errors.
  • Seek feedback if needed: If you’re uncertain about whom to acknowledge or how to express your gratitude, seek feedback from your mentors, advisors, or colleagues. They can provide valuable guidance and suggestions.
  • Show appreciation beyond formal requirements: While it’s important to acknowledge the required individuals and institutions, also consider extending your appreciation to others who may have supported you indirectly, such as family, friends, or colleagues who provided emotional support during your research journey.

10 Tips for Writing an Acknowledgement for a Research Paper

Remember, acknowledgements are an opportunity to express your gratitude and recognize the contributions of those who have helped you along the way. Take the time to craft a thoughtful and sincere acknowledgement section that reflects the support and collaborative spirit of your research endeavor.

5 Samples for Acknowledgment in Research Paper

Explore these 5 carefully crafted acknowledgment samples to effectively express gratitude in your research paper.

Sample 1: Acknowledgement for Collaborative Research:

In this sample, we showcase an acknowledgement that acknowledges the collaborative efforts of research collaborators and team members. It highlights the importance of recognizing the joint contributions made towards the research project.

“I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the members of the research team, [Collaborators’ Names], for their invaluable contributions and collaborative spirit throughout this research project. Our collective efforts and synergistic teamwork have significantly enhanced the quality and depth of this study. Each member’s unique expertise and perspectives have brought forth diverse insights, resulting in a more comprehensive and well-rounded analysis.

I am grateful for the dedication, commitment, and professionalism demonstrated by each team member. The constructive discussions, intellectual debates, and shared enthusiasm have fostered an enriching research environment that has truly pushed the boundaries of our collective knowledge. This research project stands as a testament to the power of collaboration and the collective pursuit of knowledge.”

Sample 2: Acknowledgement for Funding Support:

This sample acknowledgement focuses on acknowledging the financial support received for the research. It emphasizes the significance of recognizing funding agencies or organizations that have provided the necessary resources for the research to take place.

“I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the funding agencies and organizations that have provided financial support for this research. Their generous contributions have made it possible to conduct this study and have significantly contributed to its successful completion. The financial support has allowed for the procurement of necessary research materials, access to specialized equipment, and the opportunity to engage in valuable research experiences.

I would like to express my appreciation to [Name of Funding Agency/Organization 1] for their generous grant, which has played a crucial role in supporting this research project. Their belief in the significance of this study and their commitment to advancing knowledge in this field have been instrumental in its realization.

Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge the support received from [Name of Funding Agency/Organization 2]. Their funding has been vital in facilitating data collection, analysis, and the dissemination of research findings. Their investment in this project has not only provided financial resources but has also validated the importance and potential impact of this research.”

Sample 3: Acknowledgement for Mentorship and Guidance:

Here, we present a sample acknowledgement that expresses gratitude towards mentors and advisors who have provided guidance and support throughout the research journey. It underscores the critical role of mentorship in academic and research endeavors.

“I am deeply grateful to my mentor, [Mentor’s Name], for their exceptional guidance and unwavering support throughout this research endeavor. Their expertise, insightful feedback, and continuous encouragement have been invaluable in shaping the direction and outcomes of this study. Their unwavering commitment to my academic growth and professional development has been truly inspiring.

I am indebted to [Mentor’s Name] for their generous allocation of time and resources, their willingness to share their wealth of knowledge, and their unwavering dedication to pushing me to new heights. Their mentorship has not only enriched the quality of this research but has also had a profound impact on my personal and intellectual growth. I am truly fortunate to have had the privilege of working under their guidance.”

Sample 4: Acknowledgement for Institutional Support:

In this sample, we illustrate an acknowledgement that acknowledges the support and resources provided by institutions. It emphasizes the institutional backing that has facilitated the research process and contributed to its success.

“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the faculty members and academic advisors who have provided guidance, feedback, and support throughout my academic journey. Their expertise, wisdom, and dedication to teaching and mentoring have been instrumental in shaping my research skills and scholarly pursuits.

I am grateful to [Name of Faculty Member/Advisor 1] for their unwavering support and invaluable insights. Their expertise and guidance have been critical in refining the research design, analyzing data, and interpreting findings. Their constructive feedback and intellectual discussions have truly enriched this study.

I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of [Name of Faculty Member/Advisor 2]. Their mentorship and encouragement have played a pivotal role in the development of my research abilities and have inspired me to reach for new heights. Their belief in my potential has been a constant source of motivation throughout this research journey.”

Sample 5: Acknowledgement for Peer Reviewers:

“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the anonymous peer reviewers who have dedicated their time and expertise to provide valuable feedback and constructive criticism on this research paper. Their rigorous evaluation, insightful comments, and suggestions for improvement have immensely contributed to the quality and credibility of this work.

The meticulous review process conducted by the peer reviewers has helped shape and refine the content, methodology, and interpretation of this study. Their expertise in the field and their commitment to upholding scholarly standards have been crucial in ensuring the accuracy, validity, and relevance of the research findings.

I am sincerely grateful for the time and effort invested by each reviewer in thoroughly assessing this paper. Their detailed comments and recommendations have not only helped enhance the clarity and coherence of the manuscript but have also encouraged further reflection and refinement of the research.

The contributions of the peer reviewers are invaluable in the advancement of scientific knowledge and the improvement of academic publications. Their commitment to maintaining the rigor and integrity of the research process plays a pivotal role in fostering academic excellence and promoting the dissemination of high-quality research outcomes.”

Acknowledgement for Peer Reviewers

When writing an acknowledgement in a research paper, begin by expressing gratitude to individuals, institutions, or organizations who have contributed to the research. Provide a sincere and concise acknowledgement, mentioning their specific contributions and the impact they made on the study.

While specific examples may vary depending on the research context, an acknowledgement section in a journal article typically acknowledges the contributions of individuals, funding sources, or institutions involved in the research process. It expresses gratitude for their support, guidance, or resources.

The purpose of the acknowledgement section in a research paper is to recognize and express gratitude to individuals or entities who have supported the research. It acknowledges their contributions, whether through funding, mentorship, technical assistance, data provision, or other forms of support.

When writing acknowledgements for a publication , start by identifying the key individuals or entities that have contributed to the research. Express gratitude for their support, mentioning specific contributions and the value they added to the study. Keep the acknowledgements concise and focused on the research context.

The acknowledgement section of a research paper should include acknowledgements for individuals or entities that have contributed to the research process. This may include mentors, advisors, funding agencies, research collaborators, or others who have provided valuable support, guidance, or resources.

While including an acknowledgement section in a research paper is not mandatory, it is a common practice in academic publishing. It provides an opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of individuals or entities who have supported the research.

When writing an acknowledgements section for a literature review, acknowledge individuals or sources that have influenced and contributed to your understanding of the topic. Express gratitude for their insights, guidance, or resources that have shaped your literature review.

The terms “acknowledgement” and “acknowledgment” are both correct and interchangeable. The choice of spelling (with or without the “e”) may depend on regional or personal preferences.

To acknowledge a source in a research paper, use proper citation and referencing techniques according to the specific citation style guidelines. Include in-text citations and a corresponding entry in the reference list or bibliography to give credit to the original source.

Yes, you can acknowledge individuals who provided personal support in the acknowledgement section, such as family, friends, or loved ones. Recognize their emotional support, encouragement, or understanding during the research process.

Writing acknowledgements for a research paper allows you to express gratitude and acknowledge the invaluable contributions of individuals and institutions who have supported your work. By following the tips and utilizing the sample acknowledgements provided in this article, you can effectively and sincerely express your appreciation. Remember, acknowledgements are an opportunity to show your gratitude and give credit where it is due.

Acknowledgement for Paper Publication (10 Samples)

Acknowledgement for internship report: 10 samples and tips, leave a comment cancel reply.

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How to Write Acknowledgement in Research Paper

Sumalatha G

Table of Contents

Writing an acknowledgement in a research paper is an integral part of the process. It is a formal way of expressing gratitude to the individuals and institutions that contributed to the completion of your research.

This section, though not mandatory, holds significant value as it acknowledges the efforts of those who assisted you in the successful completion of your project. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the intricacies of writing an effective acknowledgement for your research paper.

Introduction

Acknowledgements serve a crucial role in research papers. They not only express gratitude but also provide a sense of credibility to your work. Acknowledging the contributions of others shows that your research is a collective effort, which can enhance the perceived validity of your findings.

Moreover, acknowledgements can also serve as a platform for you to demonstrate your professional courtesy and respect for the individuals and institutions that have supported your research. This can help in fostering positive relationships, which can be beneficial for your future research endeavors.

Who to Acknowledge in Your Research Paper

Deciding who to acknowledge in your research paper can be a challenging task. It is important to ensure that you do not overlook anyone who has contributed to your research. Here are some categories of individuals and institutions that you might consider acknowledging:

Academic Advisors and Supervisors

Your academic advisors and supervisors are likely to be your first point of contact for guidance and support during your research. They provide valuable insights, feedback, and direction, which can significantly influence the outcome of your research.

Therefore, acknowledging them in your research paper is a way of expressing your gratitude for their assistance and guidance. It also shows your respect for their expertise and dedication to your research.

Research Participants and Collaborators

Research participants and collaborators play a crucial role in the success of your research. They provide the data or information necessary for your research, making their contribution invaluable.

Acknowledging them in your research paper is a way of showing your appreciation for their time and effort. It also symbolizes your respect for their contribution to your research.

Funding Bodies and Institutions

Funding bodies and institutions provide the financial support necessary for conducting your research. Without their support, it might be challenging to carry out your research effectively.

Therefore, acknowledging them in your research paper is a way of expressing your gratitude for their financial support. It also shows your appreciation for their trust in your research capabilities.

How to Write Acknowledgements for Your Research Paper

Writing acknowledgements for your research paper involves more than simply listing names. It requires a thoughtful and sincere expression of gratitude. Here are some steps to guide you in writing effective acknowledgements:

Start with the Most Significant Contributions

Begin your acknowledgements by expressing gratitude to those who have made the most significant contributions to your research. This could be your academic advisors, supervisors, or funding bodies. Starting with the most significant contributions helps to set the tone for the rest of your acknowledgements.

Ensure that you express your gratitude sincerely and professionally. Avoid using overly emotional or informal language as this can undermine the professionalism of your acknowledgements.

Acknowledge Other Contributors

After acknowledging the most significant contributors, proceed to acknowledge other individuals and institutions that have supported your research. This could include research participants, collaborators, and other supportive individuals or institutions.

When acknowledging these contributors, be sure to express your gratitude sincerely and professionally. Also, ensure that you acknowledge each contributor individually to show your appreciation for their unique contribution.

Use Appropriate Language and Tone

The language and tone you use in your acknowledgements can significantly influence how they are perceived. Therefore, it is important to use appropriate language and maintain a professional tone throughout your acknowledgements.

Use formal language and avoid using jargon or colloquial expressions. Also, maintain a consistent tone throughout your acknowledgements to ensure that they are coherent and easy to read.

Examples of Acknowledgements in Research Papers

Here are a few examples that demonstrate how to acknowledge different contributors effectively:

"I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Professor ABC , for his invaluable guidance and support throughout this research. His expertise and dedication have been a source of inspiration and motivation."

"I am deeply grateful to all the participants who generously shared their time and experiences for this research. Their contributions have been instrumental in the success of this study."

"This research was made possible by the generous funding from ABC Foundation . I am profoundly grateful for their support and trust in my research capabilities."

Writing acknowledgements in a research paper is a thoughtful process that requires careful consideration of who to acknowledge and how to express gratitude. By following the guidelines and examples provided in this article, you can write effective acknowledgements that reflect your appreciation and respect for the contributions of others to your research.

Remember, acknowledgements are more than just a formality. They are an opportunity to express your gratitude and respect for the individuals and institutions that have supported your research journey. So, take the time to write acknowledgements that are sincere, professional, and reflective of your gratitude.

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Acknowledgements Example for an Academic Research Paper

Posted by Rene Tetzner | Sep 1, 2021 | How To Get Published | 0 |

Acknowledgements Example for an Academic Research Paper

Acknowledgements Example for an Academic or Scientific Research Paper This example of acknowledgements for a research paper is designed to demonstrate how intellectual, financial and other research contributions should be formally acknowledged in academic and scientific writing. As brief acknowledgements for a research paper, the example gathers contributions of different kinds – intellectual assistance, financial support, image credits etc. – into a single Acknowledgements section. Do note, however, that the formats preferred by some scholarly journals require the separation of certain contributions such as financial support of research into their own sections.

how to write acknowledgement in research article

Although authors often write acknowledgements hastily, the Acknowledgements section is an important part of a research paper. Acknowledging assistance and contributions establishes your integrity as a researcher as well as your connections and collaborations. It can also help your readers with their own research, affect the influence and impact of the researchers and other professionals you thank, and demonstrate the value and purpose of the agencies that fund your work. The contents of the example I have prepared here are appropriate for a research paper intended for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, but the author, the research project, the manuscript studied, the journal publishing the paper and all those to whom gratitude is extended are entirely fictional. They were created for the purpose of demonstrating the following key concerns when writing the acknowledgements for a formal research paper:

how to write acknowledgement in research article

•   Writing in the first person (‘I’ for a single author or ‘we’ for two or more) to offer concise but sincere acknowledgements of specific contributions to your research. •   Maintaining formal language, complete sentences and a professional tone to give specific and thorough information about contributions and convey collegial gratitude. •   Expressing respect and appreciation in an appropriate fashion for each and every contribution and avoiding artificial or excessive flattery. •   Using the complete names and preferred name formats for individuals, funding agencies, libraries, businesses and other organisations. Here, for example, I posit that the library holding the relevant manuscript has indicated that the name of the collection (lengthy though it is) should not be abbreviated. •   Acknowledging contributions to your research and paper in the order that best represents the nature and importance of those contributions. The assistance of the author’s mentor comes first here, for instance, whereas the language editor is acknowledged much further down the list. •   Meeting the requirements for acknowledgements set by the journal or other publisher of the research paper. For the example below, the goal is to record all relevant contributions to the research and paper in a single brief Acknowledgements section of 500 words or less – a set of parameters that would suit the acknowledgement requirements or expectations of many academic and scientific journals and even fit into a footnote or endnote if necessary.

how to write acknowledgement in research article

Example Acknowledgements for an Academic Research Paper This paper and the research behind it would not have been possible without the exceptional support of my supervisor, Lawrence Magister. His enthusiasm, knowledge and exacting attention to detail have been an inspiration and kept my work on track from my first encounter with the log books of British Naval Ships MS VII.2.77 to the final draft of this paper. Margaret Kempis and Matthew Brown, my colleagues at Western University, have also looked over my transcriptions and answered with unfailing patience numerous questions about the language and hands of British Naval Ships MS VII.2.77. Samantha McKenzie, head librarian of the Southern Region Central Collegiate Library Special Collections and Microfilms Department where British Naval Ships MS VII.2.77 currently resides, not only provided colour images of the manuscript overnight, but unexpectedly shared the invaluable information on the book that she has been gathering for almost twenty years. I am also grateful for the insightful comments offered by the anonymous peer reviewers at Books & Texts. The generosity and expertise of one and all have improved this study in innumerable ways and saved me from many errors; those that inevitably remain are entirely my own responsibility.

Studying British Naval Ships MS VII.2.77 has proved extremely costly and I am most thankful for the Western University Doctoral Fellowship that has provided financial support for the larger project from which this paper grew. A travel grant from the Literary Society of the Southern Region turned the hope of working in person with British Naval Ships MS VII.2.77 into a reality, and the generous offer of free accommodation from Ms McKay (Samantha McKenzie’s aunt) allowed me to continue my research with the book much longer than I could have hoped. The final design of the complicated transcription tables in Appendices I–III is the creative and technical work of Sam Stone at A+AcaSciTables.com, and the language and format of the paper have benefited enormously from the academic editing services of Veronica Perfect. Finally, it is with true pleasure that I acknowledge the contributions of my amazing partner, Kendric James, who has given up many a Friday evening and Sunday afternoon to read every version of this paper and the responses it has generated with a combination of compassion and criticism that only he could muster for what he fondly calls ‘my odd obsession with books about the sea.’

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The Acknowledgements Section

How to write the acknowledgements for your thesis or dissertation

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Reviewers: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | January 2024

Writing the acknowledgements section of your thesis might seem straightforward, but it’s more than just a list of names . In this post, we’ll unpack everything you need to know to write up a rock-solid acknowledgements section for your dissertation or thesis.

Overview: The Acknowledgements

  • What (exactly) is the acknowledgements section?

Who should you acknowledge?

  • How to write the section
  • Practical example
  • Free acknowledgements template
  • Key takeaways

What is the acknowledgements section?

The acknowledgements section of your thesis or dissertation is where you give thanks to the people who contributed to your project’s success. Generally speaking, this is a relatively brief, less formal section.  

With the acknowledgements section, you have the opportunity to show appreciation for the guidance, support, and resources provided by others during your research journey. We’ll unpack the exact contents, order and structure of this section in this post.

Need a helping hand?

how to write acknowledgement in research article

Although this is a less “academic” section, acknowledging the right people in the correct order is still important. Typically, you’ll start with the most formal (academic) support received, before moving on to other types of support.

Here’s a suggested order that you can follow when writing up your acknowledgements:

Level 1: Supervisors and academic staff

Start with those who have provided you with academic guidance, including your supervisor, advisors, and other faculty members.

Level 2: Funding bodies or sponsors

If your research was funded, acknowledging these organisations is essential. You don’t need to get into the specifics of the funding, but you should recognise the important role that this made in bringing your project to life.

Level 3: Colleagues and peers

Next you’ll want to mention those who contributed intellectually to your work, including your fellow cohort members and researchers.

Level 4: Family, friends and pets

Last but certainly not least, you should acknowledge your personal (non-academic) support system – those who have provided emotional and moral support. If Fido kept you company during those long nights hunched over the keyboard, you can also thank him here 🙂

As you can see, the order of the acknowledgements goes from the most academic to the least . Importantly, your thesis or dissertation supervisor (sometimes also called an advisor) generally comes first . This is because they are typically the person most involved in shaping your project (or at least, they should be). Plus, they’re oftentimes involved in marking your final work and so a kind word never hurts…

All that said, remember that your acknowledgements section is personal . So, feel free to adjust this order, but do pay close attention to any guidelines or rules provided by your university. If they specify a certain order or set of contents, follow their instructions to the letter.

how to write acknowledgement in research article

How to write the acknowledgements section

In terms of style, try to strike a balance between conveying a formal tone and a personal touch . In practical terms, this means that you should use plain, straightforward language (this isn’t the time for heavy academic jargon), but avoid using any slang, nicknames, etc.

As a guide, you’ll typically use some of the following phrases in the acknowledgements section:

I would like to express my appreciation to… for their help with… I’m particularly grateful to… as they provided… I could not have completed this project without… as this allowed me to… Special thanks to… who did… I had the pleasure of working with… who helped me… I’d also like to recognise… who assisted me with…

In terms of positioning, the acknowledgements section is typically in the preliminary matter , most commonly after the abstract and before the table of contents. In terms of length, this section usually spans one to three paragraphs , but there’s no strict word limit (unless your university’s brief states otherwise, of course).

If you’re unsure where to place your acknowledgements or what length to make this section, it’s a good idea to have a look at past dissertations and theses from your university and/or department to get a clearer view of what the norms are.

Aim to use plain, straightforward language with as little jargon as possible. At the same time, avoid using any slang or nicknames.

Practical Example

Alright, let’s look at an example to give you a better idea of what this section looks like in practice.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Smith, whose expertise and knowledge were invaluable during this research. My sincere thanks also go to the University Research Fund for their financial support.   I am deeply thankful to my colleagues, John and Jane, for their insightful discussions and moral support. Lastly, I must acknowledge my family for their unwavering love and encouragement. Without your support, this project would not have been possible.

As you can see in this example, the section is short and to the point , working from formal support through to personal support.

To simplify the process, we’ve created a free template for the acknowledgements section. If you’re interested, you can download a copy here .

Dissertation/thesis template for the acknowledgements section

FAQs: Acknowledgements

Can i include some humour in my acknowledgements.

A touch of light humour is okay, but keep it appropriate and professional. Remember that this is still part of an academic document.

Can I acknowledge someone who provided informal or emotional support?

Yes, you can thank anyone who offered emotional support, motivation, or even informal advice that helped you during your studies. This can include friends, family members, or a mentor/coach who provided guidance outside of an academic setting.

Should I mention any challenges or difficulties I faced during my research?

While the acknowledgements section is primarily for expressing gratitude, briefly mentioning significant challenges you overcame can highlight the importance of the support you received. That said, you’ll want to keep the focus on the gratitude aspect and avoid delving too deeply into the challenges themselves.

Can I acknowledge the contribution of participants in my research?

Absolutely. If your research involved participants, especially in fields like social sciences or human studies, acknowledging their contribution is not only courteous but also an ethical practice. It shows respect for their participation and contribution to your research.

How do I acknowledge posthumous gratitude, for someone who passed away during my study period?

Acknowledging a deceased individual who played a significant role in your academic journey can be done respectfully. Mention them in the same way you would a living contributor, perhaps adding a note of remembrance.

For example, “I would like to posthumously acknowledge John McAnders for their invaluable advice and support in the early stages of this research.”.

Is there a limit to the number of people I can acknowledge?

How do i acknowledge a group or organisation.

When thanking a group or organization, mention the entity by name and, if applicable, include specific individuals within the organization who were particularly helpful.

For example, “I extend my thanks to The Speakers Foundation for their support, particularly Mr Joe Wilkins, for their guidance.”

Recap: Key Takeaways

Writing the acknowledgements section of your thesis or dissertation is an opportunity to express gratitude to everyone who helped you along the way.

Remember to:

  • Acknowledge those people who significantly contributed to your research journey
  • Order your thanks from formal support to personal support
  • Maintain a balance between formal and personal tones
  • Keep it concise

In a nutshell, use this section to reflect your appreciation in a genuinely and professionally way.

how to write acknowledgement in research article

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This post is part of our dissertation mini-course, which covers everything you need to get started with your dissertation, thesis or research project. 

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Acknowledgments and References

Acknowledgments.

This usually follows the Discussion and Conclusions sections. Its purpose is to thank all of the people who helped with the research but did not qualify for authorship (check the target journal’s Instructions for Authors for authorship guidelines). Acknowledge anyone who provided intellectual assistance, technical help (including with writing and editing), or special equipment or materials.

TIP: The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors has detailed guidelines on who to list as an author and who to include in the Acknowledgments that are useful for scientists in all fields.

Some journals request that you use this section to provide information about funding by including specific grant numbers and titles. Check your target journal’s instruction for authors for specific instructions. If you need to include funding information, list the name(s) of the funding organization(s) in full, and identify which authors received funding for what.

As references have an important role in many parts of a manuscript, failure to sufficiently cite other work can reduce your chances of being published. Every statement of fact or description of previous findings requires a supporting reference.

TIP: Be sure to cite publications whose results disagree with yours. Not citing conflicting work will make readers wonder whether you are really familiar with the research literature. Citing conflicting work is also a chance to explain why you think your results are different.

It is also important to be concise. You need to meet all the above needs without overwhelming the reader with too many references—only the most relevant and recent articles need to be cited. There is no correct number of references for a manuscript, but be sure to check the journal’s guidelines to see whether it has limits on numbers of references.

TIP: Never cite a publication based on what you have read in a different publication (such as a review), or based only on the publication’s abstract. These may mislead you and readers. Read the publication itself before you cite it, and then check the accuracy of the citation again before submitting your manuscript.

You should reference other work to:

  • Establish the origin of ideas

When you refer to an idea or theory, it is important to let your readers know which researcher(s) came up with the idea. By citing publications that have influenced your own work, you give credit to the authors and help others evaluate the importance of particular publications. Acknowledging others’ contributions is also an important ethical principle.

  • Justify claims

In a scientific manuscript, all statements must be supported with evidence. This evidence can come from the results of the current research, common knowledge, or from previous publications. A citation after a claim makes it clear which previous study supports the claim.

  • Provide a context for your work

By highlighting related works, citations help show how a manuscript fits into the bigger picture of scientific research. When readers understand what previous studies found and what puzzles or controversies your study relates to, they will better understand the meaning of your work.

  • Show there is interest your field of research

Citations show that other researchers are performing work similar to your own. Having current citations will help journal editors see that there is a potential audience for your manuscript.

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Enago Academy

How to Draft the Acknowledgment Section of a Manuscript

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What is the Purpose of the Acknowledgements Section in a Research Paper?

The acknowledgment section is an integral part of all academic research papers. It provides appropriate recognition to all contributors for their hard work. We discuss here,  the relevant guidelines for acknowledging contributors.

Defining Who Is Acknowledged

The acknowledgment section helps identify the contributors responsible for specific parts of the project. It can include:

  • Non-authors (colleagues, friends, supervisor, etc.)
  • Funding sources
  • Editing services ,
  • Administrative staff

In academic writing, the information presented in the acknowledgment section should be kept brief. It should only mention people directly involved with the project. In other words, one should not consider thanking ones’ parents for moral and financial support.

Acknowledging contributors is necessary. However, you must know the difference between an author and a contributor . The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors ( ICMJE ) defines four criteria to assign authorship.

He or she has to have

  • Made substantial conceptual or design contributions or gathered and analyzed important data, and
  • Either helped draft or critically revise the paper in keeping with important intellectual content, and
  • Provided final approval before publishing, and
  • Agreed to be accountable for the accuracy of the work

These authors and their affiliations will be listed at the beginning of the paper. The “corresponding author” will also be listed a second time and will directly correspond with the journal to ensure documentation requirements are met.

Many journals now ask that you provide the role of each author in your acknowledgment section. For example, a typical statement of authors’ contributions might be as follows (note that only last names are used unless ambiguous):

Smith conducted the data analysis and created the tables and figures. Jones provided his technological expertise for GIS tracking. Johnson provided a factual review and helped edit the manuscript.

This type of acknowledgment provides your reader with a good sense of who was responsible for each part of your research and manuscript.

Acknowledgment Section

Non-Author Contributors

There are many people involved in a research project who are not authors but have provided valuable contributions. For example, one person’s responsibility might be to seek project funding; another’s might be to supervise laboratory staff. A few others might have provided valuable services such as technical editing and writing or offering help in reviewing and revising the manuscript for grammar and syntax. These people should also be mentioned in the acknowledgment section of your manuscript.

Acknowledgment should also be provided  for  writing assistance, technical editing, language editing, and proofreading . Therefore, editing companies need to be duly acknowledged in professionally edited manuscripts as per the  ICMJE guidelines.

It is necessary to acknowledge editing companies in professionally edited manuscripts, even though these companies are paid for their work.

Acknowledgment Format

Unlike the main body of your paper, the format for your acknowledgment section can be more personal. It is permissible to use personal pronouns in this section. For example,

I thank the following individuals for their expertise and assistance throughout all aspects of our study and for their help in writing the manuscript.

Keep in mind that many guidelines indicate that funding sources be listed separately from the acknowledgment section. In addition, the sources (funding agencies) might have specific guidelines that you must follow. Please be sure to comply with these sources and your author guidelines.

For more information on authors and contributors , read articles on the Enago Academy website.

What types and formats of acknowledgments have you incorporated into your manuscripts? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. Do you need help with manuscript editing ? Make sure you visit enago.com today!

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How to Write Acknowledgements

  • 2-minute read
  • 25th March 2015

If you are near the end of your thesis, you can start to think about putting on the finishing touches . One thing you will have to do here is write your acknowledgements. A lot of people worry about this, but there’s really no need. As we are about to show, it’s actually quite simple!

What Are Acknowledgements?

The acknowledgement section of a thesis is where you can thank everyone who has helped you in your research. It is typically located at the beginning of your thesis, right after the contents page, and shouldn’t really be more than one or two pages long. The best thing to do is to keep it concise.

Who Should I Thank?

Think about the people who were of crucial importance during your research. This could include friends, family or professors, or even volunteers who have taken part in your research. It’s also important to acknowledge professional bodies who have given you funding or other help.

How Should I Write It?

There are no strict requirements for the tone of your acknowledgements; it’s essentially the one section where you can be a little bit more informal! Try to make sure the tone fits the person or organization you’re thanking, though, maintaining a formal approach when addressing funding bodies or other official groups.

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

Other than trying to be concise, the main thing you should keep in mind is varying your language, if only because starting every sentence with “I would like to thank…” will sound a bit dull.

There are several ways you could word your thanks. A few suggestions are:

  • This research would not have been possible without…
  • My sincere thanks go to…
  • I am grateful to…
  • Heartfelt thanks to…
  • I would like to express my gratitude to…
  • Appreciation is due to…
  • I acknowledge the contribution of…
  • I am indebted to…

And that’s all there is to it! Relax and enjoy writing your acknowledgements. If you’ve got this far in the thesis-writing process, you’re over the toughest bit now! For more information about writing a dissertation or thesis, read our full dissertation writing guide .

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Writing Acknowledgments for Your Research Paper

  • Research Process
  • Peer Review

In this article, we describe what types of contributions warrant mention in the acknowledgments section of a paper .

Updated on July 8, 2014

aje editing tips

In another article , we discuss four criteria that must be met for an individual to qualify for manuscript authorship. In this article, we describe what types of contributions warrant mention in the acknowledgments section of a paper instead. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) describes several roles that merit acknowledgment, rather than authorship :

“acquisition of funding; general supervision of a research group or general administrative support; and writing assistance, technical editing, language editing, and proofreading.”

You should also acknowledge direct technical assistance, including help with animals, cells, equipment, patients, procedures, or techniques or provision of data, equipment, reagents, or samples, as well as more indirect assistance via intellectual discussions. Note that all of these contributions are typically more mechanical, indirect, and/or one-dimensional than those of authors. Additionally, some argue that individuals who provided help and could be chosen as a peer reviewer, leading to a potential conflict of interest, should be cited.

In any case, the ICMJE states that contributors may be cited individually or collectively and that their precise contributions should be specified.

e.g., “We thank Dr. X and Dr. Y for performing the surgeries” or “We thank the physicians who performed the surgeries"

Institutional affiliations may or may not be mentioned, depending on the journal's guidelines. Finally, the ICMJE encourages written permission from acknowledged individuals “because acknowledgment may imply endorsement.”

Funding sources should also be mentioned in the acknowledgments section, unless your target journal requires a separate section for this information. Whether the funding was partial or full, relevant grant numbers, and the author(s) who received the funding, if applicable, should be detailed as well. Note that acknowledging grants and fellowships is in fact required by many funding agencies and research institutions.

In contrast, contributions that are not specifically related to your research, including personal encouragement (e.g., by your friends or parents) and very general help (e.g., from a laboratory manager who purchases all supplies for your research group), should not be cited. Additionally, anonymous editors and peer reviewers are usually not thanked in the acknowledgments section; many journals (such as American Physical Society journals ) explicitly discourage this practice because it is difficult to comprehensively acknowledge all anonymous support and because this practice could potentially bias reviewers.

The writing style of acknowledgments sections may vary according to the journal, but generally, these sections are written in the first person and are as succinct as possible. A statement about conflicts of interest, citation of previous publication in poster or abstract form, and other information may also be included in this section, again depending on the journal. As you proceed through revisions for one journal or if you change your target journal, remember to reformat as necessary and to update your acknowledgments if additional help was obtained during the revision, such as with editing or new experiments.

Although an acknowledgments section may be appended to the end of your manuscript or relegated to a footnote, it is not a trivial component. By acknowledging all help received with your research, you are demonstrating your integrity as a researcher, which in turn encourages continued collaboration. You may also be bolstering your colleagues' careers, as being credited in an acknowledgments section is emerging as one of many gauges of a researcher's professional impact beyond citations (see ImpactStory , based on altmetrics ). Furthermore, information about who provided certain data, equipment, protocols, reagents, or samples may be of help to other researchers in your field.

This editing tip has hopefully elucidated what to include in the acknowledgments section of your manuscript and why this section is significant. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us . Best wishes in your research and writing!

Michaela Panter, Writing Support Consultant at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, PhD, Immunobiology, Yale University

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Dissertation acknowledgments [with examples]

how to write acknowledgement in research article

What are dissertation acknowledgements?

What to consider when writing your dissertation acknowledgments, who to thank in your dissertation acknowledgments, what (and what not) to write in your dissertation acknowledgments, good examples of dissertation acknowledgments, a final word on writing dissertation acknowledgments: have fun, frequently asked questions about dissertation acknowledgments, related articles.

While you may be the sole author of your dissertation, there are lots of people who help you through the process—from your formal dissertation advisors to the friends who may have cooked meals so that you could finish your last chapter . Dissertation acknowledgments are a chance to thank everyone who had a hand in the completion of your project.

Dissertation acknowledgments are a brief statement of your gratitude to advisors, professors, peers, family, and friends for their help and expertise.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

  • the most important things to consider when you’re writing your dissertation acknowledgments
  • who to thank in your dissertation acknowledgments
  • what (and what not) to write in your dissertation acknowledgments
  • short examples of dissertation acknowledgments

Once you’re at the stage where you’re writing your dissertation acknowledgments, you may be tempted to kick back and relax. After all, the hard part of writing the dissertation itself is over and a list of thanks should be simple to churn out.

However, the acknowledgments are an important part of your overall work and are something that most people who read your dissertation, including prospective employers, will look at.

Tip: The best dissertation acknowledgements are concise, sincere, and memorable.

Approach this part of the process, brief as it may be compared to the long haul of writing the dissertation, with the same high level of care and attention to detail. It’s an explicit and permanent statement of who made a real impact on your work and contributed to your academic success.

Plus, the people you thank are often deeply moved by being included—some even go so far as to frame the acknowledgments. Aim to make yours sincere, memorable and something that people will be touched by.

First things first: who should you include in your dissertation acknowledgments? If you’re not sure who to thank, try the brainstorming technique to generate some ideas. Consider these two approaches:

  • Make a list of everyone, both professional and personal, who was involved at any point during your work on your dissertation, and then thin down the list from there.
  • Make a list of the pivotal aspects of your process and think about who was involved and how they helped.

As you select the people and groups to include in your dissertation acknowledgments, keep in mind that it’s essential to acknowledge your supervisor and anyone else with a visible connection to your work.

It’s an unfortunate reality that not every supervisor goes above and beyond to provide feedback and guidance to the students they are supposed to supervise. However, leaving them out, even if you personally felt disappointed by their involvement or lack thereof, could be seen as a snub.

You should end up with a fairly short list of people to thank. While being mindful of professional etiquette and personal feelings, be choosy about who makes the final cut since your acknowledgments should be limited to no more than a page.

Now that you have your list of people and groups to thank, it’s time to start writing. Before your first pen or keystroke, however, check your university’s guidelines as your institution may have specific rules around what can and cannot be included.

The standard practice is to begin with the formal and then progress to the informal, so the first people to mention would be:

  • supervisors
  • committee members
  • other professional contacts

Use their full names and titles and go into brief detail about how they contributed to your work.

Once those are done, you can move on to the personal thanks, which can include friends, family, even pets. If you are so inclined, it is also considered appropriate to thank God or make mention of spiritual support.

You may also choose to inject a little humor at this point, but don’t get carried away and definitely don’t include sarcasm or critical comments of any kind, including self-critical ones. Remember that the acknowledgments precede your dissertation, so you want to be taken seriously.

A couple more basics that are essential when creating your acknowledgments:

  • Position: Acknowledgments should be placed after the title page and before the abstract.
  • Perspective: Write from the first-person perspective and speak in your own voice.

A really good way to get a sense of how to write your own dissertation acknowledgments is to read ones written by others. Notice which ones you respond particularly well to and use them as a model upon which to base your own.

Here are some good examples to help you get started:

I couldn’t have reached this goal without the help of many people in my life. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support.

First, my sincere thanks to my dissertation committee. The value of their guidance cannot be overstated. Dr. Elaine Gooding and Dr. Matthew Hunter provided much wisdom that helped me chart my course. I couldn’t have asked for a better supervisor than Dr. Fiona Moore, whose knowledge and experience guided me every step of the way.

Next, I’d like to thank my partner, Elliott. Your votes of confidence kept me going when my spirits dipped. I couldn’t have done this without you.

Last but not least, I’d like to acknowledge the emotional support provided by my family and friends. We made it to the top of the mountain! I look forward to celebrating with all of you.

This example is shorter, but still contains the key components:

Several people played a decisive role in my success and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them.

My chair, Dr. Ronald Saulk, provided invaluable support and infinite patience and I am truly grateful for all of his wisdom and guidance. I also owe the entire staff of the Wilhelm Library a debt of gratitude. From tracking down books and arranging for interlibrary loans to keeping the coffee maker in the lobby well-stocked and in good working order, they offered the practical help and kind gestures that made all the difference.

I’d also like to thank my family and God, for always being there for me.

One final piece of advice: enjoy this process. Writing a dissertation doesn’t happen every day, and the opportunity to acknowledge the important people in your life in a published format is as rare as it is wonderful.

What’s more, this part of your dissertation is unlike any other. It’s unbounded by the conventions that apply to the formal work. It’s a chance to really flex some creative muscle and let your personality shine through. So make the most of it and have fun!

In your dissertation acknowledgments, you thank everyone who has contributed to your work or supported you along the way. Who you want to thank is a very personal choice, but you should include your supervisors and anyone else with a visible connection to your work. You may also thank friends, family, and partners.

First, you need to come up with a list of people you want to thank in your dissertation acknowledgments. As a next step, begin with the formal and then progress to the informal, so the first people to mention would be supervisors, mentors, committees, and other professional contacts. Then, you can move on to the personal thanks, which can include friends, family, even pets.

Who you acknowledge in your dissertation is ultimately up to you. You should, however, thank your supervisor and anyone else with a visible connection to your work. Leaving them out, even if you personally felt disappointed by their involvement or lack thereof, could be seen as a snub. In addition, you can thank friends, partners or family.

There are many ways so you can acknowledge your dissertation supervisor. Some examples can be found in this article above. If you need more examples, you can find them here .

While acknowledgments are usually more present in academic theses, they can also be a part of research papers. In academic theses, acknowledgments are usually found at the beginning, somewhere between abstract and introduction. In research papers, acknowledgments are usually found at the end of the paper.

how to write acknowledgement in research article

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Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples

Published on 4 May 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on 4 November 2022.

Acknowledgements-section

The acknowledgements section is your opportunity to thank those who have helped and supported you personally and professionally during your thesis or dissertation process.

Thesis or dissertation acknowledgements appear between your title page and abstract  and should be no longer than one page.

In your acknowledgements, it’s okay to use a more informal style than is usually permitted in academic writing , as well as first-person pronouns . Acknowledgements are not considered part of the academic work itself, but rather your chance to write something more personal.

To get started, download our step-by-step template in the format of your choice below. We’ve also included sample sentence starters to help you construct your acknowledgments section from scratch.

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Table of contents

Who to thank in your acknowledgements, how to write acknowledgements, acknowledgements section example, acknowledgements dos and don’ts, frequently asked questions.

Generally, there are two main categories of acknowledgements: professional and personal .

A good first step is to check your university’s guidelines, as they may have rules or preferences about the order, phrasing, or layout of acknowledgements. Some institutions prefer that you keep your acknowledgements strictly professional.

Regardless, it’s usually a good idea to place professional acknowledgements first, followed by any personal ones. You can then proceed by ranking who you’d like to thank from most formal to least.

  • Chairs, supervisors, or defence committees
  • Funding bodies
  • Other academics (e.g., colleagues or cohort members)
  • Editors or proofreaders
  • Librarians, research/laboratory assistants, or study participants
  • Family, friends, or pets

Typically, it’s only necessary to mention people who directly supported you during your thesis or dissertation. However, if you feel that someone like a secondary school physics teacher was a great inspiration on the path to your current research, feel free to include them as well.

Professional acknowledgements

It is crucial to avoid overlooking anyone who helped you professionally as you completed your thesis or dissertation. As a rule of thumb, anyone who directly contributed to your research should be mentioned.

A few things to keep in mind include:

  • Even if you feel your chair didn’t help you very much, you should still thank them first to avoid looking like you’re snubbing them.
  • Be sure to follow academic conventions, using full names with titles where appropriate.
  • If several members of a group or organisation assisted you, mention the collective name only.
  • Remember the ethical considerations around anonymised data. If you wish to protect someone’s privacy, use only their first name or a generic identifier (such as ‘the interviewees’).

Personal acknowledgements

There is no need to mention every member of your family or friend group. However, if someone was particularly inspiring or supportive, you may wish to mention them specifically. Many people choose to thank parents, partners, children, friends, and even pets, but you can mention anyone who offered moral support or encouragement, or helped you in a tangible or intangible way.

Some students may wish to dedicate their dissertation to a deceased influential person in their personal life. In this case, it’s okay to mention them first, before any professional acknowledgements.

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After you’ve compiled a list of who you’d like to thank, you can then sort your list into rank order. Separate everyone you listed into ‘major thanks’, ‘big thanks’, and ‘minor thanks’ categories.

  • ‘Major thanks’ are given to people who your project would be impossible without. These are often predominantly professional acknowledgements, such as your advisor , chair, and committee, as well as any funders.
  • ‘Big thanks’ are an in-between, for those who helped you along the way or helped you grow intellectually, such as classmates, peers, or librarians.
  • ‘Minor thanks’ can be a catch-all for everyone else, especially those who offered moral support or encouragement. This can include personal acknowledgements, such as parents, partners, children, friends, or even pets.

How to phrase your acknowledgements

To avoid acknowledgements that sound repetitive or dull, consider changing up your phrasing. Here are some examples of common sentence starters you can use for each category.

Note that you do not need to write any sort of conclusion or summary at the end. You can simply end the acknowledgements with your last thank-you.

Here’s an example of how you can combine the different sentences to write your acknowledgements.

A simple construction consists of a sentence starter (in purple highlight ), followed by the person or entity mentioned (in green highlight ), followed by what you’re thanking them for (in yellow highlight .)

Acknowledgements

Words cannot express my gratitude to my professor and chair of my committee for her invaluable patience and feedback. I also could not have undertaken this journey without my defense committee, who generously provided knowledge and expertise. Additionally, this endeavor would not have been possible without the generous support from the MacArthur Foundation, who financed my research .

I am also grateful to my classmates and cohort members, especially my office mates, for their editing help, late-night feedback sessions, and moral support. Thanks should also go to the librarians, research assistants, and study participants from the university, who impacted and inspired me.

Lastly, I would be remiss in not mentioning my family, especially my parents, spouse, and children. Their belief in me has kept my spirits and motivation high during this process. I would also like to thank my cat for all the entertainment and emotional support.

  • Write in first-person, professional language
  • Thank your professional contacts first
  • Include full names, titles, and roles of professional acknowledgements
  • Include personal or intangible supporters, like friends, family, or even pets
  • Mention funding bodies and what they funded
  • Appropriately anonymise or group research participants or non-individual acknowledgments

Don’t:

  • Use informal language or slang
  • Go over one page in length
  • Mention people who had only a peripheral or minor impact on your work

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You may acknowledge God in your thesis or dissertation acknowledgements , but be sure to follow academic convention by also thanking the relevant members of academia, as well as family, colleagues, and friends who helped you.

Yes, it’s important to thank your supervisor(s) in the acknowledgements section of your thesis or dissertation .

Even if you feel your supervisor did not contribute greatly to the final product, you still should acknowledge them, if only for a very brief thank you. If you do not include your supervisor, it may be seen as a snub.

In the acknowledgements of your thesis or dissertation, you should first thank those who helped you academically or professionally, such as your supervisor, funders, and other academics.

Then you can include personal thanks to friends, family members, or anyone else who supported you during the process.

The acknowledgements are generally included at the very beginning of your thesis or dissertation, directly after the title page and before the abstract .

In a thesis or dissertation, the acknowledgements should usually be no longer than one page. There is no minimum length.

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How to Write the Acknowledgements Section of Your Paper

how to write acknowledgement in research article

Quick Takeaways:

  • The Acknowledgements section names who helped or supported you, and how, during your research or study
  • Use our checklist as a guide to drafting the Acknowledgements of your dissertation or journal manuscript, and
  • Download our example Acknowledgements and use it as a template

The English language has a rich history of borrowing words from other languages, especially from Latin. Latin abbreviations such as ‘a.m.’, ‘p.m.’ and ‘CV’ have become part of our everyday vocabulary. Such abbreviations are also frequently used in academic writing, from the ‘Ph.D.’ in the affiliation section to the ‘i.e.’, ‘e.g.’, ‘et al.’, and ‘QED’ in the rest of the paper.

This guide explains when and how to correctly use ‘et al.’ in a research paper.

In this guide:

  • 1) Meaning of ‘et al.’
  • a) Table: Correct use of ‘et al.’ by style guide
  • b) Unusual scenarios

A global requirement in scholarly coursework and research is that the intellectual and practical work, as well as the write-up, must be done entirely by the scholar or researcher.

For that reason, sources of any text, ideas, or data that were not your own need to be clearly cited. Any reproduced or adapted material also needs copyright permission. Similarly, if you were allowed to receive specific types of help during your study, you must declare that support in a special section titled ‘Acknowledgements’.

The Acknowledgements section reflects academic honesty and transparency. It shows your professionalism by publicly giving credit to individuals or groups who substantially contributed to your work, whether for free or paid for. It also shows that you know how to be a courteous member of your academic network. After all, you’d expect similar recognition for helping your peers in the future.

You need to declare support in an Acknowledgements section, in both:

  • University degree projects that are submitted as theses or dissertations. In general, ‘thesis’ and ‘dissertation’ are the names of the project write-ups for, respectively, taught degrees and research degrees in the US, but the reverse order in the UK. (From now, just the word ‘dissertation’ will be used.)
  • Research manuscripts that are submitted for publication in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, books, monographs, or chapters.

This guide will provide general advice on how to prepare the Acknowledgements section for dissertations and journal manuscripts. We’ll discuss the two document types according to the following six steps.

A. Writing the Acknowledgements for Your Dissertation or Manuscript

Step 1: List who directly helped you and how Step 2: List who else supported you and how Step 3: Take responsibility for your work Step 4: Consider research and publication ethics Step 5: Check document guidelines Step 6: Edit and proofread Putting it all together: A quick checklist

B. Example Acknowledgements for (1) a dissertation and (2) a journal article  [ Free Download ] 

Quick aside.

The US spelling is ‘Acknowledgments’, whereas the UK spelling is ‘Acknowledgements’. The singular word can be used as the section heading if you’re thanking only one person, group, or institution.

Step 1: List who directly helped you and how

The first step is to transparently and accurately list specific external (non-author) contributions and support necessary to complete your work. Clearly identifying the source of materials or data is particularly important for other researchers wishing to repeat or build on your findings.

Provide full names of the people or institutions that helped you. Omit titles of people, such as Mr or Ms, but you may use Dr or Prof (or Dr. or Prof., depending on whether you’re following US, UK, or other convention in your report). If possible, include the institution of each person and, if required by a journal, also their job title and specialty or department.

Specific support that must normally be acknowledged in both dissertations and manuscripts include:

  • Funding, sponsorship, or fellowship, including the name of the funding agency and award or grant number, and a statement of whether the funder was involved in the study and reporting (some journals require a separate funding section for this declaration)
  • People, institutions, or organisations that gave access to facilities or equipment
  • Study participants (e.g., interviewees, patients, staff of an institution)
  • People who supplied special materials, reagents, or samples
  • Providers of technical assistance or services (name the specific method and extent of help received)
  • Source and permission to use specific datasets, or copyright permission to reproduce or adapt illustrations or other material
  • People who collected data, transcribed or translated interviews, or performed data entry, coding, or statistical analysis
  • People who discussed, critiqued, or advised on an earlier draft
  • People who helped with language (e.g., translation, editing, proofreading) or artwork during report preparation

There are several options for acknowledging support in a formal and polite way in dissertations and manuscripts. A direct way is to start with a relevant verb or noun, such as ‘We thank X [person] for Y [contribution as verb+ing or noun]’, ‘We appreciate the Y [contribution as noun] of X’, ‘Thanks are due/owed to X…’, or, simply, ‘Thanks go to X…’:

We sincerely thank Dr Alan Pan (Department of Surgery, ABC University) for assisting with case selection.

I thank Prof Kate Chang of the University of ABC for permission to use and reproduce the survey instrument.

We appreciate the assistance of the staff of the ABC Division of ABC University, who recruited the volunteers.

Special thanks go to Mari Beer (ABC Editing Company) for useful comments on and for editing an earlier draft of this manuscript.

An indirect, and weaker, way is to use an adjective or a noun conveying thanks, such as ‘We are thankful/grateful to’ or ‘We express/extend our thanks/gratitude/appreciation to’:

I am grateful to the ABC University Core Research Unit for providing DNA sequencing services.

We extend our gratitude to Prof. Mike Jackson (Director, Centre for ABC, University of ABC) for providing the samples used in this study.

An even more indirect, and also ambiguous, way of thanking is to start with a verb of intention, as in ‘I would like to’, ‘I wish to’, and ‘I want to’:

We would like to thank the patients at ABC Medical Centre who participated in this study.

I wish to express my gratitude to Julia Punn for drawing the graph in Figure 2.

Use of the verb ‘acknowledge’ (as in ‘acknowledge X for Y’ or ‘acknowledge Y by/from X’) may imply a sense of obligation or reluctance:

I acknowledge the ABC Department at ABC University for permission to use the data.

We gratefully acknowledge the copyediting performed by Dr Ruth Cone, Associate Professor in English at the University of ABC.

The grammatical subject for thanking in the Acknowledgements can usually be ‘I’ (or ‘We’ for multi-authored journal manuscripts). If the publication style is to avoid personal pronouns, you can use ‘The author/s’ as the subject:

The author is thankful to Louis Grey of ABC Language Services for proofreading the manuscript.

Alternatively, the acknowledged party can be the subject of sentences using either the active or passive voice.

Jeff Smith, Head Librarian at ABC University, deserves special thanks for providing access to the university archives.

The staff at the Institute of ABC are thanked for providing technical advice and facilities throughout the project.

Funding is commonly acknowledged first or last and in a factual, impersonal way in the passive voice:

This study was supported in part by the ABC University Grants Committee (Award No. 123456).

Research funding for this project was provided by the ABC University Grants Committee (Award No. 123456).

Check your institution, publisher, or funder policy for types and extent of support allowed. For example, most universities strictly do not allow writing assistance, but might allow editing and proofreading assistance under certain conditions. Some journals consider that people who wrote drafts qualify as authors.

Step 2: List who else supported you and how

Journal manuscripts and dissertations commonly acknowledge indirect practical assistance and general intellectual support. Dissertations allow a wider range of indirect, non-research acknowledgements written in a more personal style. Examples of indirect support are given below:

  • Academic or project supervision
  • Obtaining research grants
  • Academic discussion or training
  • General administrative, logistic, or practical help
  • Mentorship and inspirational lecturers, tutors, or other people
  • Guidance or support in applying for the studentship
  • General training, discussion, or advice (e.g., from teachers, the research group, support staff, or fellow students)
  • Moral or emotional support from peers, friends, family, or even pets
  • Spiritual or religious support
  • Dedication to a family member, friend, or inspirational person
  • Dedication to a community, study participants, readers, or other group
  • Dedication to a deceased supervisor or close acquaintance such as a family member, friend, or colleague
  • Dedications may go at the start or end of the Acknowledgements but may be limited to a deceased co-author of the manuscript
  • Useful comments, or a specific useful suggestion, from one or more ‘anonymous reviewers/referees’

The typical order for the Acknowledgements is to mention direct then indirect support. Alternatively, the order can reflect decreasing importance of contributions regardless of category.

It’s best to group similar roles together. Introduce a series of acknowledgements in a list, followed by a colon. You may need to use semicolons as ‘super commas’ to clarify each contribution. For example:

This article has benefited from the contributions of the following people: my former primary supervisor, Dr A (ABC University), who obtained project funding and reviewed multiple drafts; Prof B (DEF University), who provided useful discussion on theoretical frameworks; and Dr C (GHI University), who tutored me in advanced research methods.

For dissertations , non-technical acknowledgements often use a semi-formal, expressive style with positive adjectives and adverbs:

Many thanks go to my supervisor, Prof Jane Wong, for advice, encouragement, and support throughout my degree. Without her immensely valuable and motivational feedback at weekly meetings and on multiple drafts, this dissertation would never have been completed.

Last but not least, I am indebted to my family for their unfailing love and unconditional support. Their strong belief in me kept me going through both thick and thin in my studies.

This dissertation is dedicated to my grandparents, Naomi Tanaka and the late Tom Tanaka. They are my constant guiding light.

In journal manuscripts , use a formal style. Don’t thank co-authors, and thank supervisors only if they don’t meet the journal’s authorship criteria. Examples of non-technical acknowledgements:

I am grateful to my supervisor, Prof Gladys Cho, for her encouragement and guidance.

We thank the two anonymous journal reviewers and the handling editor, Dr Andy Harris, for helpful comments on an earlier draft.

This article is dedicated to the memory of Dr Yvonne Koo, the third co-author, who died during the preparation of this manuscript.

To avoid repeating the same thanking phrase, use a variety of phrases, as well as signal words such as ‘In addition,’ ‘Furthermore,’ and ‘also’. You may end with the most meaningful or special contribution following phrases such as ‘In particular, I am most grateful for’, ‘Most importantly, I thank’ ‘I especially thank’, or ‘Finally, special thanks go to’.

Step 3: Take responsibility for your work

A sentence that is often included near the end of the Acknowledgements, particularly in the humanities and social sciences, is about accepting sole responsibility for the work, text, content, interpretations, opinions, or conclusions presented. This sentence commonly comes after thanking people who gave reviewing, editing, or proofreading assistance. It publicly removes blame from non-authors for any potential problems, deficiencies, or mistakes in the work and implies they may not necessarily agree with the content.

The statement also allows the author/s to explicitly claim that the final version is their own work. For example:

All opinions, omissions, and errors remain my own.

The responsibility for the content and any remaining errors remains exclusively with the authors.

In addition, authors may be required (e.g., by their funder) to explicitly say the content is entirely their own. For example:

The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of their institutions, employers, or funders.

Acknowledgements for dissertations can end, or begin, with a brief statement of the researcher’s personal reflections of their degree course, about how they have become a credible and mature member of the research community. For example:

This degree has taught me both academic and personal lessons, including how to be a responsible, resilient, and professional researcher.

Step 4: Consider research and publication ethics

You may be required to include specific additional statements in the Acknowledgements that are related to research and reporting ethics. Such declarations may be required in separate itemised sections of a manuscript or dissertation, but if there are no specific instructions, they can go in the Acknowledgments. The following are some examples:

  • Ethics approval for conducting human or animal studies, and details of how human participants gave their informed consent
  • Prior journal or online publication of the work or presentation at conferences; also for journal manuscripts: prior presentation in a dissertation/thesis
  • Authors’ financial or non-financial conflicts of interest, also called competing interests (identify specific authors by initials); or say ‘All authors declare they have no competing interests’
  • Conflicts of interest or sources of funding for anyone else who helped in the research or reporting (e.g., copyeditors paid for by industry sponsors)
  • Authors’ specific contributions to the research and publication. The contributions may be organised by author (using initials) or by contribution, for example, according to categories in the Contributor Roles Taxonomy ( CRediT ) or authorship criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors ( ICMJE ):

[By author] Author contributions. A.B.C.: study conception and design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, drafting. D.E.F: data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, drafting. G.H.I: analysis and interpretation of results, drafting. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

[By contribution] Author contributions. Conceptualisation: A.B.C.; Methodology: A.B.C.; Investigation: A.B.C., D.E.F.; Formal analysis: A.B.C., D.E.F., G.H.I.; Writing – original draft: A.B.C.; Writing – review & editing: D.E.F., G.H.I. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Thank only people who genuinely helped you complete your work. Don’t use the Acknowledgements to ‘name drop’ or thank famous people who didn’t help. Journals usually require that all people who are named in the Acknowledgements have given their written permission to be thanked.

Step 5: Check document guidelines

Acknowledgments normally go at the front of a dissertation but the end of a manuscript; however, check relevant guidelines of your institution or journal for the exact placement. Also check guidelines for other content and formatting requirements, such as:

  • If the Acknowledgements go on a new page, in a separate section, or in a footnote or endnote
  • Types of activity to be acknowledged, or not
  • Length of the Acknowledgements
  • If only one paragraph is expected, or multiple paragraphs
  • If subsections with headings are allowed
  • Format of names, titles, institutions
  • Whether or not reviewers can be thanked
  • Order of support to be thanked (e.g., people before funding sources)
  • Whether dedications are allowed

Academic books and monographs may have overall Acknowledgements at the beginning or end of the book, and specific Acknowledgements at the end of each chapter. The content can cover categories of acknowledgements found in both manuscript and dissertations but can be much longer and written in a more personal and expressive style.

Step 6: Edit and proofread

Your Acknowledgements are your opportunity to thank non-authors who helped you in your scholarly work. Acknowledgements follow certain conventions and patterns, and have academic, ethical, and social roles that contribute to the credibility of your work and to your identity as a competent researcher.

So, remember to carefully edit and proofread your Acknowledgements, ensuring the following:

  • Keep the tone modest, sincere, and professional
  • Fact-check names, titles, and current institutions of people you mention
  • Remove any exaggerations or potentially offensive language
  • Clarify any possibly ambiguous, misleading, or confusing phrases
  • Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Putting it all together: A quick checklist

If you’ve followed our guidelines above, you should have an effective Acknowledgements section. Good luck with drafting your dissertation or manuscript! Reach out to [email protected] should you require any editorial assistance.

Example Acknowledgements [Free Download]

This downloadable Acknowledgements, in UK style, is customisable for dissertations and journal manuscripts and is annotated with helpful Comments. Please edit or replace text as needed and delete all Comments when finalising your text. Remember to use non-technical, jargon-free but formal language, and avoid abbreviations, or spell them out at first mention.

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The response to our workshop, which included a constructive and insightful Q&A session, was very positive.Drawing on our extensive experience working with hundreds of Hong Kong researchers targeting the GRF and ECS every year, we used examples of poor and subsequently improved proposals to show the attendees how they can make their applications stand out. The response to our workshop, which included a constructive and insightful Q&A session, was very positive.Drawing on our extensive experience working with hundreds of Hong Kong researchers targeting the GRF and ECS every year, we used examples of poor and subsequently improved proposals to show the attendees how they can make their applications stand out. The response to our workshop, which included a constructive and insightful Q&A session, was very positive.Drawing on our extensive experience working with hundreds of Hong Kong researchers targeting the GRF and ECS every year, we used examples of poor and subsequently improved proposals to show the attendees how they can make their applications stand out.

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  • Academic Writing Skills

Most academic papers have many people who have helped in some way in the preparation of the written version or the research itself. This could be someone from a sponsoring institution, a funding body, other researchers, or even family, friends or colleagues who have helped in the preparation. These people need to be mentioned in the Acknowledgments section of the paper.

Acknowledgments section in different academic documents

The Acknowledgments section is present in both a paper and an academic thesis . For papers, the Acknowledgments section is usually presented at the back, whereas in a thesis, this section is located towards the front of the manuscript and is commonly placed somewhere between the abstract and Introduction . However, the exact location varies between each university , as each establishment possesses its own style guide for theses and student submissions. So, it is always worthwhile consulting your university’s academic style guide before writing a manuscript for undergraduate/postgraduate submission.

Acknowledgments section in theses

For academic theses, there is no right or wrong way to acknowledge people, and who you want to acknowledge is down to personal preference. However, the common types of people authors acknowledge in their academic theses include:

  • Supervisor’s contributions
  • Research group (especially if the thesis in question is a master’s and the work is helped along by a PhD student)
  • Support staff (laboratory technicians, etc.)
  • Any students who undertook side projects with them (e.g. final year undergraduates, summer students, master’s students)
  • Administrative staff (there can be a lot of bureaucracy for thesis submissions)
  • Referees that got them onto the course (postgraduate only)
  • Funding bodies
  • Any collaboration with industry and the people they worked with at said establishment(s)

Acknowledgments section in journal papers

Now, whilst university manuscripts can include any combination of the above (including all and none in some cases), academic publications in journals more commonly acknowledge the same kind of people/organizations, but again it is up to the author(s) what they feel should be acknowledged; not every piece of help needs to be acknowledged, just the most useful/prevalent help. Also, acknowledgments should be written in the first person .

Examples of whom and what should be acknowledged in a journal publication are listed below:

  • Direct technical help (e.g. supply of animal subjects, cells, equipment setup, methods , statistics/data manipulation, samples, chemicals/reagents, analytical/spectroscopy techniques)
  • Indirect assistance (topical and intellectual discussions about the research which can lead to generation of new ideas)
  • Affiliated institutions
  • Grant numbers
  • Who received the funding (if not the author, e.g. a supervisor)
  • Any associated fellowships

Whom to acknowledge - and whom not to acknowledge

  • Other authors/contributors : It is not common practice for the lead paper writer (i.e. the person writing and publishing the manuscript) to acknowledge the other authors/direct contributors to the paper. Only those who are not recognized as authors may be thanked and acknowledged.
  • Reviewers : Authors are also not allowed to thank reviewers personally, or those who inspire them but cannot directly receive their appreciation – although reviewers can be thanked if they are kept anonymous .
  • Friends and family : Unlike university manuscripts, journal manuscripts should not include help and guidance from family and friends.

Other acknowledgments

  • Titles and institutions : Titles such as Mr, Mrs, Miss, etc. are not commonly included, but honorary titles such as Dr, Professor, etc. are. The institutions of the acknowledged people are usually mentioned.

For example, the following would not be acceptable:

We dedicate this work to the deceased Prof. Bloggs.

However, the following would be acceptable:

We acknowledge Prof. Bloggs for discovering the secret of anonymity.

Additional pointers for writing the Acknowledgments section

  • The  tone  of the section should be in an active voice.
  • Do not use pronouns indicating possession (i.e. his, her, their, etc.).
  • Terms associated with specific companies should be written out in full, e.g. Limited, Corporation, etc.
  • If the results have been published elsewhere, then this should also be acknowledged.
  • Any abbreviations should be expanded unless the abbreviation appears in the main body of the text.

Below are examples of the Acknowledgments sections taken from a couple of papers from Nature Communications :

caption

Duan L., Hope J., Ong Q., Lou H-Y., Kim N., McCarthy C., Acero V., Lin M., Cui B., Understanding CRY2 interactions for optical control of intracellular signalling, Nature Communications, 2017,  8:547

Xu Q., Jensen K., Boltyanskiy R., Safarti R., Style R., Dufresne E., Direct measurement of strain-dependent solid surface stress, Nature Communications, 2017,  8:555

Many people think that the Acknowledgments section of a manuscript is a trivial and unimportant component. However, it constitutes a vital means to ensure that all affiliated support for the paper can be duly and transparently mentioned. By acknowledging people for their efforts and contributions, you demonstrate your integrity as an academic researcher. In addition, crediting other people for their help can also increase their presence in the academic world and possibly help to boost their career as well as your own.

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Guidelines on authorship and acknowledgement.

Disagreements may arise regarding who should be named as an author or contributor to intellectual work and the order in which individuals should be listed. These Guidelines are meant to serve as a set of standards that are shared by the academic community as a whole in order to help facilitate open communication through the adherence to common principles.  These principles apply to all intellectual products, whether published or prepared for internal use or for broad dissemination. For a printable pdf of these guidelines, please click here .

Applicability

These Guidelines apply to all faculty, students postdoctoral researchers, and staff. Ownership of research data and materials resulting from Harvard University (“University”) research activities rests with the University (see Research Data Ownership Policy ). 

Designing an ethical and transparent approach to authorship and publication of research, whether in a peer-reviewed journal or in an open access e-print or pre-print repository (e.g., arXiv, PsyArXiv), is a shared responsibility of all research team members but is primarily the responsibility of the Principal Investigator. The University recognizes that there are different standards across disciplines regarding authorship and the order in which authors are listed or acknowledged. Additionally, journals often specify their requirements in their guidance for authors and require attestations regarding individual authors intellectual contributions to the work. As a result, each laboratory, department, and/or school should engage in conversations regarding their own discipline-specific standards of authorship and, if needed, are encouraged to supplement the Guidelines herein with a description of these respective discipline-specific processes for deciding who should be an author and the order in which authors will be listed.

Note that these Guidelines are not intended for allegations related to research misconduct, defined as fabrication or falsification of data or plagiarism, which are subject to the Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Misconduct in Research and reviewed by the Committee on Professional Conduct (CPC).  

Criteria for Authorship

FAS and SEAS recommend that authorship consider the following criteria [1] ;

  • Each author is expected to have made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work; or have drafted the work or substantively revised it; AND
  • To have approved the submitted version (and any substantially modified version that involves the author’s contribution to the study); AND
  • To have agreed both to be personally accountable for the author’s own contributions and to help ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated and resolved..

Some diversity exists across academic disciplines regarding acceptable standards for substantive contributions that would lead to attribution of authorship. Many journals have adopted discipline-specific standards. The University expects that researchers will act in accordance with accepted practice of the relevant research community. This Guidance is intended to allow for such variation of best practices within a specific discipline, while ensuring authorship is not inappropriately assigned.

Acknowledgment Versus Authorship

Financial sponsorship or donation of gift funding does not constitute criteria for authorship. Individuals who do not meet the recommended requirements for authorship, but have provided a valuable contribution to the work, should be acknowledged for their contributing role as appropriate to the publication. Authorship should not be conferred on those who have not made intellectual contributions to the work, or whose intellectual contributions are limited.

Implementation

Implementation of these Guidelines should include a commitment to collegiality, open communication, and expectation-setting throughout the research and scholarly process as well as the following considerations (see Authorship Best Practices Guidance (Addendum A) and Authorship Discussion Tool (Addendum B):

  • Research groups should discuss authorship credit/criteria, presentation of joint work, and future direction of the research as early as practical, frequently during the course of their work, and as research team members begin or end their involvement. The Principal Investigator should initiate these discussions; however, any collaborator should feel free to raise questions or seek clarity throughout the course of the collaboration. Each lab or group may consider having a written document in place as guidance.
  • All members of the research team are expected to adhere to good laboratory practices including maintaining an accurate laboratory notebook and annotating electronic files, as these practices will aide in identifying and clarifying individuals’ contributions to a project.
  • Disposition of collaborative data and research materials should be mutually agreed upon among collaborators as early as practical and in accordance with any data-sharing and retention requirements.
  • Laboratories, departments, centers, and programs supporting scholarly work should have available these Guidelines and a description of their discipline-specific processes of determining who should be an author, and the order in which authors are listed. These Guidelines should be included in the orientation of new research team members.

Authorship Disputes and Resolution

Disputes over authorship are best settled by the authors themselves; however, conflicts related to authorship may arise at any time during the research or scholarly process, resulting from differing perceptions of one’s contributions and resulting attribution of credit. It is expected that the resolution of disputes among collaborators will occur through open and collegial discourse, and mutual agreement is strongly encouraged. To facilitate this process, any prior decisions or discussions among authors, including verbal or written agreements between coauthors, should be reviewed and considered. These Guidelines and any documented customary practices in the relevant discipline should be applied, as appropriate. The authors should utilize the Authorship Discussion Tool (see Addendum B) in order to guide authors through a robust series of questions that can be jointly discussed by the authors in an effort to resolve the dispute.  Extending an invitation to a mutually agreed-upon party outside the group who is familiar with publication norms in the field to informally serve as a neutral facilitator may ensure that all viewpoints are considered and objectively applied. It is expected that most disputes will be resolved collegially among collaborators. Should an authorship dispute arise that includes a question of the veracity of underlying data supporting a manuscript or the misappropriation of the work of others , consultation with the Research Integrity Officer may be helpful to support resolution.

If the dispute cannot be resolved at the local level, it is the responsibility of the FAS Department Chair or SEAS Area Chair or their designee to take the lead in effecting a resolution of the dispute, assuming that the FAS Department Chair or SEAS Area Chair is not a direct party to the dispute and does not have a conflict of interest.

If strenuous, good faith efforts to resolve the dispute utilizing the Authorship Discussion Tool (see Addendum B) are unsuccessful, one or more of the parties may then contact their FAS Divisional Dean(s)/SEAS Area Dean, sharing the completed  Addendum B, which records the nature of the dispute and the efforts undertaken, and requesting further consideration. The FAS Divisional Dean(s)/SEAS Area Dean will review the submitted information and determine whether or not to appoint a committee to examine the case. As necessary, the Dean(s) will appoint a committee (and designate a committee chair), in consultation with the relevant FAS department(s)/SEAS area(s). The committee will consist of the following:

  • A[n additional] faculty member from the field or fields relevant to the dispute
  • Two faculty members from an adjacent field/department/area

FAS/SEAS Research Integrity Officer

  • If the case involves a graduate student, an appropriate (non-student) representative from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
  • If the case involves a postdoctoral researcher, an appropriate (non-postdoctoral) representative from the FAS Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

The committee will review the case and develop a recommendation to make to the authors. The committee chair will first inform the FAS Divisional Dean(s)/SEAS Area Dean of this recommendation and then inform the authors.

Related Resources

University Statement of Policy in Regard to Intellectual Property (IP Policy)

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Office of Student Affairs

Harvard Ombuds Office

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Authorship Resources

FAS/SEAS Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Research Misconduct

Harvard Medical School Authorship Guidelines

[1] As published in McNutt et al., Transparency in authors’ contributions and responsibilities to promote integrity in scientific publication. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) March 13, 2018 115 (11) 2557-2560. These criteria were adapted from the International Committee for Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) framework for broader applicability across scientific fields.

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How to Write Acknowledgements

Last Updated: September 12, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 749,548 times.

Any time you publish work or are recognized publicly, it's good form to thank the people who've helped you along the way with an acknowledgment. It can be a tricky piece of writing, though. What tone to use? How formal should your thanks be? Who should you thank? Whether it be academic acknowledgments, public thanks, or other reasons for thanking people, wikiHow can help you offer your gratitude in style. See Step 1 for more information.

Academic Acknowledgment and Thank You Speech Templates

how to write acknowledgement in research article

Writing Academic Acknowledgements

Step 1 Use the appropriate tone and form.

  • The acknowledgment page can either be a list or a more fluid paragraph. It would be fine to write, "I would like to thank Professor Henderson, Dr. Matthews, etc." until you've worked your way through the list.
  • It would also be perfectly acceptable to address each person individually and more personally: "I would like to thank Professor Henderson for her expert advice and encouragement throughout this difficult project, as well as Dr. Matthews for his brilliance in the lab." [2] X Research source
  • Some people feel uncomfortable emphasizing certain people's help over other people's help, in which case the list form in alphabetical order is a perfectly acceptable method of writing an Acknowledgment.

Step 2 Start with the most important teachers.

  • In general, it's helpful to think in groups, even going to far as to format all the thank-yous of a particular group in a single sentence: "I would like to thank Dr. Stevens, Dr. Smith, and Professors Clemons for their extraordinary support in this thesis process."
  • If you worked with a small committee, it's customary and thoughtful to thank each person for the specific things they contributed to your work.

Step 3 List other helpers.

  • If your scholarship at the University was supported by any fellowships or scholarships, it would also be appropriate to name them in this section: "This project would have been impossible without the support of the Katherine G. Katherine Foundation, the Reese's Peanut Butter scholarship, and the Guggenheim Group."

Step 5 Put more personal thank-yous and emotional supporters last.

  • Remember that your friendships and romances may change over the years, so it might be best to keep particularly mushy romances and declarations of love out of your acknowledgment page, so you won't have to see it later if it doesn't work out.
  • It's generally best to avoid overtly personal anecdotes and inside jokes in an academic acknowledgements page. If you want to reference other students' constant joking around in the lab, say, it would be better to say, "Thanks to Joe and Katherine for their friendship in the lab" than "Thanks to Joe and Katherine for dunking my slides in Jell-O when I was hungover." [6] X Research source

Writing a Thank-You Speech

Step 1 Keep it to no more than a minute or two at most.

  • Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame induction speech was widely criticized for being tone deaf and spiteful, talking down to many former opponents and somewhat tarnishing his great legacy. Don't fall in the same trap.

Writing Other Acknowledgements

Step 1 Get creative with a literary acknowledgment page.

  • Like an academic publication, it's also important to remember to address any financial support you received during the publication of your book. If you received any artist residencies, grants, or fellowships while working on your book, you need to list them in the acknowledgments.
  • Use your writing skills to approach the acknowledgment creatively. Authors like Lemony Snicket, Neil Gaiman, J.D. Salinger, and others have used the form for witty and usually-self deprecating anecdotes about the friends and cohorts they choose to thank.

Step 2 Shout-out your friends when your album drops.

  • Friends and family
  • Other bands who helped you along the way, lending gear or instruments
  • Recording engineers and label folk
  • Musical inspirations

Step 3 Write personal notes to ask for permission about public acknowledgment.

  • In the letter, explain your desire to thank them and explain the publication or event at which you'd like to thank them. Express your gratitude for their assistance and encourage them to get in touch to approve your acknowledgment. More often than not, they'll be flattered.

Step 4 Always double-check your list, proofread, and check your spelling and pronunciation.

Expert Q&A

Christopher Taylor, PhD

  • Look at samples. Evaluating someone else's existing acknowledgements can help, especially if you are writing a specific kind of acknowledgement such as a thesis acknowledgement or other academic item. Thanks Helpful 46 Not Helpful 8

how to write acknowledgement in research article

You Might Also Like

Write in Third Person

  • ↑ https://esl.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/LI/li-how_to_write_acknowledgements_in_a_dissertation.pdf
  • ↑ https://www.awelu.lu.se/referencing/writing-acknowledgements/
  • ↑ https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/funding-acknowledgements
  • ↑ https://www.ref-n-write.com/blog/research-paper-example-writing-acknowledgements-appendix-sections-academic-phrasebank-vocabulary/
  • ↑ https://gradschool.unc.edu/academics/thesis-diss/guide/ordercomponents.html#dedication
  • ↑ http://www.katemessner.com/think-before-you-thank-writers-acknowledgments/
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/index.html

About This Article

Christopher Taylor, PhD

If you’ve published an academic work and you want to write acknowledgments, dedicate one page at the end of the document to thanking your supporters. You can write out your acknowledgments as a heartfelt paragraph thanking each person individually, or you can write a list in order of those who helped you the most, or even an alphabetical list if you’re uncomfortable emphasizing certain people over others. Include teachers, anyone who contributed to the project, personal supporters, and organizations or foundations which provided you with financial aid. For tips on writing acknowledgments for a literary work, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Acknowledgements are not just thank you notes: A qualitative analysis of acknowledgements content in scientific articles and reviews published in 2015

Adèle paul-hus.

École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information, Université de Montréal, Downtown Station, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Nadine Desrochers

Associated data.

Restrictions apply to the availability of the acknowledgement data, which is used under license from Clarivate Analytics. Readers can contact Clarivate Analytics at the following URL: http://clarivate.com/scientific-and-academic-research/research-discovery/web-of-science/ . References for the acknowledgement excerpts used are available in S1 Table .

Acknowledgements in scientific articles can be described as miscellaneous, their content ranging from pre-formulated financial disclosure statements to personal testimonies of gratitude. To improve understanding of the context and various uses of expressions found in acknowledgements, this study analyses their content qualitatively. The most frequent noun phrases from a Web of Science acknowledgements corpus were analysed to generate 13 categories. When 3,754 acknowledgement sentences were manually coded into the categories, three distinct axes emerged: the contributions, the disclaimers, and the authorial voice. Acknowledgements constitute a space where authors can detail the division of labour within collaborators of a research project. Results also show the importance of disclaimers as part of the current scholarly communication apparatus, an aspect which was not highlighted by previous analyses and typologies of acknowledgements. Alongside formal disclaimers and acknowledgements of various contributions, there seems to remain a need for a more personal space where the authors can speak for themselves, in their own name, on matters they judge worth mentioning.

Introduction

The idea of using acknowledgements as a source for bibliometric indicators has been surrounding their study since the 1990s. In 1991, Cronin was already asking, “why are acknowledgement counts excluded from formal assessments of individual merit or influence, such as tenure review?” ([ 1 ]: p. 236). In 1995, Cronin and Weaver were encouraging the development of an Acknowledgement Index, based on the model of the Science Citation Index [ 2 ]. Almost two decades later, Costas and van Leeuwen [ 3 ] suggested that it was perhaps time “to employ this sort of tool to facilitate development of the so-called ‘influmetrics’” ([ 3 ]: p. 1659). For their part, Díaz-Faes and Bordons [ 4 ] highlighted that the inclusion of acknowledgement information in the Web of Science (WoS) was offering new avenues to study collaboration in science, going beyond traditional bibliometric indicators. McCain [ 5 ] went further and assessed the feasibility of a formal Personal Acknowledgements Index. And yet, despite decades of studies positioning acknowledgements alongside citations and authorship in what Cronin called the “reward triangle” [ 6 ], the consideration of acknowledgements as an indicator of scientific credit has not materialized and, at best, remains a proposal at the exploratory stage, or even simply a rhetorical idea (see [ 7 ] for a meta-synthesis of this literature).

At the same time, many studies have used funding-related indicators based on acknowledgement data (e.g. [ 8 – 11 ]). In fact, acknowledgement studies can no longer be separated from the financial aspect of scientific research. In 2008, WoS started to collect and index funding sources found in the acknowledgements of scientific papers. These new data were added by WoS in response to many funding bodies’ requirement to acknowledge the sources supporting research. Since then, large-scale acknowledgement data have been used as a bibliometric tool to follow the money trail of research and funding-related analyses have become a dominant trend in recent acknowledgement literature [ 7 ]. To this day, acknowledgements have been more closely related to funding indicators than to any other kind of scientific credit indicators.

The literature also underlines the elusive nature of acknowledgements, pointing to their form and tone, which have been described as sometimes flowery, personal, and even manipulative:

  • Acknowledgements are permeated by hyperbole, effusiveness, overstatement, and exaggeration. ([ 12 ]: p. 64)
  • Acknowledgements have been discussed as a form of patronage in scholarly communication, where the reality of the past may be purposefully glossed over and where the author could be looking toward the possibility of receiving future favours. ([ 13 ]: p. 4)

Furthermore, several studies mention the lack of standardization of acknowledgements as one important limitation hindering their analyses:

  • The format of acknowledgement varies from field to field and from journal to journal. As noted, persons and institutional sources may be listed in the methods and materials section of an article or explicitly thanked in an acknowledgement section. ([ 14 ]: p. 506)
  • Since there are no established formats for acknowledgements in papers, as there are for citations, expressions of gratitude vary greatly and sometimes it was difficult to identify the correct type of support, and even more difficult, the correct funding organization. ([ 15 ]: p. 238)
  • The first source of simple error may arise through the misspelling of the names of funding bodies and potentially the names of grants and grant codes […]. A second difficulty will be that researchers will not correctly remember the funding bodies and grants that they used to support the research. ([ 16 ]: p. 368–369)

Acknowledgements may thus contain formally required statements of gratitude but have also been used as personal spaces of authorial expression, and as such, acknowledgement texts have been analysed as a genre per se. Several discourse and linguistic analyses have studied acknowledgements found in dissertations, theses, monographies, and research articles (e.g. [ 17 – 19 ]).

Acknowledgements analyses have also led to numerous typologies or classifications of the contributions acknowledged in scientific publications. In 1972, Mackintosh [ 20 ] proposed the first qualitative content analysis of acknowledgements based on a typology of the three main types of “services” acknowledged in scientific papers: facilities , access to data , and help of individuals . Twenty years later, McCain [ 14 ] offered a finer typology of acknowledgements, using five categories: access to research-related information , access to unpublished results and data , peer interactive communication , technical assistance , and manuscript preparation . The same year, Cronin introduced his first version of a six-part typology of acknowledgements ( paymaster , moral support , dogsbody , technical , prime mover , and trusted assessor ) which was created before encountering Mackintosh’s 1972 and McCain’s 1991 work [ 1 , 21 ]. Subsequent versions of this typology—developed with different collaborators through the years (namely McKenzie, Rubio and Weaver(-Wozniak))—include the peer interactive communication category borrowed from McCain [ 14 ] alongside moral support , access (to resources, materials and infrastructure), clerical support , technical support , and financial support [ 2 , 22 – 24 ]. Cronin’s model has since been adopted, adapted, and augmented in several studies (e.g. [ 25 – 30 ].

More recently, Giles and Councill [ 31 ] used natural language processing to extract named entities from more than 180,000 acknowledgements published in computer science research papers. In their content analysis, the most frequently acknowledged entities are classified into four categories: funding agencies , corporations , universities and individuals . Other studies have analysed the content of acknowledgements focusing on funding bodies and classifying them by sectors and subsectors (e.g. [ 10 , 32 – 35 ]).

Finally, linguistic studies have also used classifications of acknowledgements, focusing on the structure and patterns of dissertation acknowledgement texts (e.g. [ 18 , 36 – 40 ]) and on the socio-pragmatic construction of acknowledgements found in research articles and academic books [ 19 , 41 – 43 ].

Typologies and classifications aim to describe and categorize the content of acknowledgements in a synthetic manner. However, these taxonomies are based on small-scale samples of acknowledgements, the only exception being the work of Giles and Councill [ 31 ] which focused solely on named entities. More recently, a large-scale multidisciplinary analysis of acknowledgement texts was published by the authors and collaborators in PLOS One [ 44 ]. This analysis of acknowledgements from more than one million articles and reviews published in 2015, highlighted important variations in the practices of acknowledging. Focusing on the 214 most frequent noun phrases of that corpus, the study showed that acknowledgement practices truly do vary across disciplines. Noun phrases referring to technical support appeared more frequently in natural sciences while noun phrases related to peers (colleagues, editors and reviewers) were more frequent in earth and space, professional fields, and social sciences. Noun phrases referring to logistics and fieldwork-related tasks appeared prominently in biology. Pre-formulated statements used in the context of conflict of interest or responsibility disclosures were more frequently found in acknowledgements from clinical medicine, health, and psychology. However, this analysis also led to further questions concerning the interpretation of these noun phrases in their original context. Findings from this study showed that acknowledgements are not limited to credit attribution and that the numerous taxonomies and classifications found in the literature do not account for the current acknowledgement practices where pre-formulated statements of financial assistance and conflict of interest disclosures appear to be frequent [ 44 ]. Conclusions from this study raise further questions because these pre-formulated statements could have an influence on large-scale analyses that use automated linguistic methods, thus calling for a qualitative analysis of acknowledgements in the context of their use.

Objective and research questions

To improve understanding of the context and various uses of expressions found in acknowledgements, this study proposes to analyse their content qualitatively. More specifically, this study aims at answering the following research questions:

  • In which contexts are specific expressions used?
  • Do the contexts and meanings vary by discipline?
  • What does a qualitative analysis reveal in terms of offering avenues for a more contextualized use of acknowledgements in large-scale studies?

Data and methods

Data for this study were retrieved from WoS’s Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), which both include funding acknowledgement data. It bears repeating that acknowledgments are collected and indexed by WoS only if they include funding source information [ 45 ]. Access to WoS data in a relational database format was provided by the Observatoire des sciences et des technologies ( http://www.ost.uqam.ca ). The full text of acknowledgements from all 2015 articles and reviews indexed in the SCI-E and the SSCI were extracted. The original corpus includes a total of 1,009,411 acknowledgements for as many papers.

In a previous analysis, we identified the 214 most frequent noun phrases of that corpus of acknowledgement using natural language processing [ 44 ]. For the purpose the present qualitative analysis, these 214 noun phrases were reduced to single words (e.g. “technical assistance” was reduced to “technical” and “assistance”) and redundant words were excluded, for a final corpus of 154 single words. Each single word could therefore be found in context, no matter its proximity to other single words; this offered us the possibility to code various types of occurrences of each word, whether it was part of a noun phrase or not.

The coding was done in two steps. First, an initial codebook was established inductively by one researcher to classify each of the 154 words and revised by a second researcher. All words were then coded by both researchers and their work was reconciled through “negotiated agreement” ([ 46 ]: p. 305, see also [ 47 , 48 ]). Second, 20 words were selected from the corpus of 154 words by purposeful sampling, where cases for study are selected because “they offer useful manifestations of the phenomenon of interest” ([ 49 ]: p. 40). Selection of the words included in the final sample was based on the quantitative analysis findings [ 44 ], which highlighted the potential importance of pre-formulated statements such as “The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript” (ut 000367510900041). Special attention was given to the words frequently used in those statements (e.g. analysis, collection, design, preparation). Sampling decisions were also oriented towards potential polysemous words which could lead to different contextual meanings (e.g. “assistance”). The 20 words of the final sample were coded within the context of their original sentences, extracted from acknowledgements. Words were thus used as a seed to refer back to full acknowledgement sentences.

The coding process entails data reduction where the many meanings of a sentence must be reduced or summarized under one main category [ 50 ] in order to reflect a practice or a phenomenon on a humanly manageable scale. The principles of saturation and qualitative sampling, whereby the sample is “conceptually representative of the set of all possible units” ([ 51 ]: p. 84), ensures that the phenomenon is reflected in its full complexity. Therefore, acknowledgements were stratified by discipline to reflect potentially different disciplinary uses of a word. Coding was then performed on this sample of 20 words within their original acknowledgement contexts, using the sentence as the unit of analysis and adapting the codebook in an iterative manner as finer meanings emerged.

The final codebook is composed of 13 categories, presented in Table 1 . The coding was done by one researcher and guided by the question, “in which context is this word used?” One category was selected for each sentence coded, aiming at qualifying the context in which a word is used. Each word of the sample was coded in a minimum of 15 original sentences per discipline, for all 12 disciplines, resulting in a total of 3,754 sentences coded. Results are reported in “thick description” using sufficient descriptions and quotations to allow “thick interpretation”, which means connecting individual cases to the larger context without going into trivial details ([ 49 ]: p. 503).

The results of the coding process are summarized in Table 2 which presents, for each word of the sample, the percentage of all the occurrences attributed to a specific category. The analysis reveals the importance of three distinct axes: the contributions, the disclaimers, and the authorial voice. Moreover, disciplinary patterns bring another layer of analysis as divergent uses of the coded words emerge.

Words are presented in the table in descending order of their frequency in the corpus.

* “Other” regroups the following categories: Supervision and Management, Combination, and Vague or other.

Contributions

Acknowledgements constitute a space where authors can detail “who has done what” during the research process. Most often, authors use this space to thank colleagues that contributed to the research, as in the following example: “The authors thank Colleen Dalton and four anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments that improved the manuscript. We thank Fan-Chi Lin for providing FTAN measurements for comparison, and Anna Foster, Jiayi Xie and Goran Ekstrom for informative discussion.” (ut 000355321800013; earth and space). However, in some cases acknowledgements can also include contributorship statements from the authors in order to reflect the distribution of labour: “A.P., V.M. and V.P were involved in writing the manuscript. A.B.G and Y.A.K. were responsible for conception of the idea” (ut 000365808000014; clinical medicine).

The categories peer communication, investigation and analysis, materials and resources, and writing refer to specific types of contribution to research. These categories, taken together, represent half (50%) of the sample coded, confirming the importance of the contributions axis within the acknowledgements’ context. Moreover, some words are used most often to refer to specific categories of contribution, such as “access” which is used mainly in the category materials and resources (70% of the occurrences coded), “discussion” which is almost exclusively associated to the peer communication category (98% of the occurrences coded), and “assistance”, “experiment”, “help”, and “measurement”, which are all mainly associated to the category investigation and analysis (more than 60% of the occurrences coded).

Disclaimers

Acknowledgements are not necessarily thank-you notes or recognition of responsibility. Financial disclosure, conflict of interest, disclaimer, and ethics account for more than 40% of the sample coded. In fact, the categories financial disclosure and disclaimer are among the most frequent in the sample, accounting respectively for 22% and 18% of all occurrences coded. The words “analysis”, “collection”, “decision”, “design”, “interpretation”, “preparation”, and “writing”, which could all seemingly refer to types of contributions, were in fact used in the context of responsibility statements in a substantial share of the cases analysed. Moreover, the words “decision”, “design” and “interpretation” also are mostly found in those kinds of responsibility disclaimers (in respectively 65%, 55% and 61% of the occurrences coded for these specific words).

Non-responsibility statements of funding bodies are the most frequent disclaimers. The following example presents a typical statement: “The funding source had no role in the design of the study, the analysis and interpretation of the data or the writing of, nor the decision to publish the manuscript.” (ut 000352854700010). However, we found declarations of non-responsibility for other types of contributors regarding some part of a research project, as in the following sentence: “The data collectors have no responsibility over the analysis and interpretations presented in this study.” (ut 000349266800011). Furthermore, disclaimers are not always non-responsibility statements and can, on the contrary, disclose the specific responsibility of an organization, such as: “This study was funded by Xi'an Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd (Beijing, People's Republic of China) who was responsible for study design and data collection, analysis, and interpretation.” (ut 000356594900001).

Contributions and disclaimers crossovers

In many cases, the disciplinary stratification provided a further level of analysis. The words “analysis”, “assistance”, and “code” present clear disciplinary patterns where the coding highlights the distinction between the two main contextual uses: the contributions axis and the disclaimers axis. For instance, the word “analysis” is used primarily in the sample to describe an investigation and analysis type of contribution: “We are grateful to Nahoko Adachi for her help in conducting the statistical analysis” (ut 000353959400005; psychology). However, for biomedical research, clinical medicine, and health, “analysis” is used mainly within the category disclaimer (example: “The funding agencies did not have any role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript” [ut 000346498800018; clinical medicine]). Mathematics is a divergent discipline, where the dominant category for “analysis” is financial disclosure, as exemplified by the following sentence: “This work was supported by the International Max-Planck Research School, 'Analysis, Design and Optimization in Chemical and Bio-chemical Process Engineering', Otto-von-Guericke-Universitat Magdeburg” (ut 000362588800005; mathematics).

Similarly, the word “assistance” is generally used across disciplines to describe a contribution pertaining to the category investigation and analysis (example: “The authors thank S. Watmough and K. Finder for assistance with field sampling at Dorset, and A. McDonough for assistance with the classification of plant species” [ut 000347756900044; earth and space]), except in engineering and technology and in mathematics where “assistance” is used to disclose financial help (financial disclosure) in the majority of the cases examined, as in this sentence: “The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF grant: Unlocking the future- FA2007043000003) towards this research is hereby acknowledged” (ut 000350024900008; mathematics).

Two distinct contextual uses emerge for the word “code”: it is found most often within the disclaimers axis (financial disclosure category) in biology, biomedical research, chemistry, health, psychology and social sciences (example: “The research (project code: TSY-11-3820) was supported by the Research Fund of Erciyes University” [ut 000363704000011; biology]) while it is used to describe a specific contribution (investigation and analysis category) in the majority of the cases studied in earth and space, engineering and technology, mathematics, physics and professional fields (example: “We thank Prof. D. Karaboga and Dr. B. Basturk for providing their excellent ABC MATLAB codes to implement this research” [ut 000361400900022; earth and space]).

In the case of the word “review”, the coding process also highlights two dominant uses, varying with the discipline: in biology, biomedical research, earth and space, mathematics, physics, and in the professional fields, “review” is used primarily to describe some part of the peer communication process (peer communication category), as in the following example: “We would like to express our gratitude to the anonymous referee for his or her careful review and insightful comments, in particular, for pointing out a simple proof of Lemma 1.8.” (ut 000347714700003; engineering and technology). However, in clinical medicine, a different use is made of the word “review,” mainly to refer to the document per se (dissemination category), as in this example: “We are grateful to Dr. Mozzetta for critically reading the manuscript and all members of the lab for stimulating discussions during the preparation of this review” (ut 000352374400001; clinical medicine). For all the remaining disciplines (chemistry, health, psychology, and social sciences), both categories (peer communication and dissemination) appear frequently.

The word “data” also presents distinct disciplinary patterns in the sample coded. “Data” is used mainly within the contributions axis (materials and resources category) in biology, clinical medicine, earth and space, engineering and technology, and social sciences (example: “The authors thank Chesapeake Energy for providing access to the VSP data we used” [ut 000364362900035; earth and space]). Moreover, the word “data” refers to a task within the investigation and analysis category in an important share of the cases coded in chemistry, physics, professional fields, and psychology (example: “We thank all graduate research assistants who helped with data collection” [ut 000348882900009; psychology]). However, “data” is mainly found within the disclaimers axis in clinical medicine and health (disclaimer category) as in the following example: “The funding agencies had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, the decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript” [ut 000345586900003; clinical medicine].

Authorial voice

Although details of contributions and various disclaimers represent a substantive share of their content, acknowledgements also constitute a space for personal testimony. Notwithstanding the expectations of funders and ethical considerations, acknowledgements remain the subjective presentation of researchers’ practices and of research contexts. The authors are the voice of the acknowledgements and as such, the word “author” is one of the most frequent with more than 339,000 occurrences in our dataset. Moreover, even when the word “author” is absent, the concept is not. In fact, the authorial voice cannot be reduced to a single category, because it pervades the acknowledgements whether the authors speak in the first or third persons:

  • “ I would like to thank Iliana Flores, Amy Harrison, and Shannon Kahlden for their help with data collection.” (ut 000361977300090)
  • “ We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for the contributions to this manuscript.” (ut 000364777400031)
  • “Also, our thanks go to Mr Vit Hanousek who designed an original computer tool suitable for making all the above-discussed measurements.” (ut 000346267600010)
  • “The authors declare that they have no competing interests.” (ut 000369908800022)
  • “The authors wish to express their appreciation to the National Iranian Copper Industry Company (NICICO) for funding this work.” (ut 000344595900005)
  • “Schuster is profoundly grateful to all the families who hosted her but especially Hasidullah, his wife, son and grandson who were unfailingly patient and kind with the strange cuckoo in their nest and to the Leverhulme Trust for funding her time in Afghanistan.” (ut 000350285300006)
  • “This review is dedicated to the memory of my father who was a source of inspiration.” (ut 000349637500005)

Furthermore, as exemplified by the cases presented above, the varied nature of the testimonies found in acknowledgements underlines a need for a “free space” within research publications. Alongside formal disclaimers and acknowledgements of various contributions, authors seem to require a more personal space where they can speak for themselves, in their own name, on matters they judge worth mentioning.

Discussion and conclusion

In the last decades, acknowledgements have become a “constitutive element of academic writing” ([ 52 ]: p. 160). However, the acknowledgement section is not a mandatory part of a scientific article and its content could certainly be described as miscellaneous, ranging from pre-formulated financial disclosure statements to personal testimonies of gratitude. Moreover, acknowledgements’ content and practices have evolved over time, just as citations and authorship attribution practices have changed following the transformations that are affecting the whole reward system of science [ 53 ].

Typologies and classifications of acknowledgements have been a consistent topic in the acknowledgement literature [ 7 ]. Most of these typologies and classifications revolve around the contributions axis of acknowledgements, focusing on “who gets thanked for what” and “what types of contributions are acknowledged”. This qualitative analysis of acknowledgement content confirms the importance of the contributions axis: acknowledgements are indeed still a space where authors can detail the division of labour within all collaborators of a research project. Our findings also reveal the importance of disclaimers as part of the current scholarly communication apparatus, an aspect which was not highlighted by previous analyses and typologies.

It should be noted that our analysis was restricted to a corpus of single words, sampled from noun phrases identified by correspondence analysis [ 44 ]. Further research could now seek to recombine those single words into noun phrases that present variations in meaning around a common concept, such as “assistance” (e.g. “technical assistance” and “financial assistance”). Furthermore, our coding of acknowledgement sentences was done using mutually exclusive categories, an epistemological choice. Given the fact that sentences can perform more than one kind of action, another avenue would be to use open coding and place occurrences in non-exclusive, mutually complementary categories.

Our qualitative results show that caution should be used when working with acknowledgement data. Large-scale acknowledgement data are limited to funded research, given that in the two main bibliographic databases, Web of Science and Scopus, acknowledgements are collected with the intended objective of identifying funding sponsors and tracking funded research [ 54 , 55 ]. The indexation of acknowledgements are thus limited to acknowledgements that contain some kind of funding information; this could in turn induce a potential bias toward funding-related aspects within acknowledgements’ content [ 45 ]. This indexation bias could then, at least in part, explain the importance of funding disclosures in the dataset analysed here, but also elsewhere in large-scale studies.

Yet, our findings show that acknowledgements cannot be described as having one single and homogeneous purpose; they can include expected, if not imposed, acknowledgement of financial resources as well as infrastructure alongside very personal testimonies of gratitude, all at the same time, as the following excerpt exemplifies: “Data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. […]. The authors wish to extend special thanks to those of Hawaiian ancestry, on whose sacred mountain we are privileged to be guests. Without their generous hospitality, the observations would not have been possible” (ut 000363471600015). On rare occasions, personal matters discussed in the acknowledgements become the center of attention, such as when an author proposed to his girlfriend in the acknowledgement of a paper: “C.M.B. would specifically like to highlight the ongoing and unwavering support of Lorna O’Brien. Lorna, will you marry me?” [ 56 ]. This particular paper was covered by many news outlets and online media sites when it was published, ranking in the 20 th position of the Altmetrics Top100 ranking for the year 2015. Such a case highlights the potential unexpected effect an acknowledgement can have on the visibility of a paper.

Clearly delimited and dedicated spaces for funding information, conflict of interest disclosures and contributorship statements are already implemented in some scientific journals (e.g. PLOS One , The Lancet , Science ). Nonetheless, such examples are far from the norm at the moment. In light of our findings, if an effort of standardization of acknowledgements is to be made, acknowledgements should at least include three main sections: ethics of research (financial disclosure, conflict of interest and responsibility disclaimers), contributions made to research, and personal testimony. These three indexation fields would, in turn, allow large-scale analysis of acknowledgements without the equivocality that currently characterizes these texts, yet without narrowing the space left for the authorial voice. The question remains as to whether there is a real wish within the scientific community to delineate such acknowledgement sections; if not, acknowledgement data are likely destined to remain simple tracking devices for science funding, the contributions and the authorial voices lost in large-scale analyses of scientific credit.

Supporting information

References are presented in order of in-text appearance.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Vincent Larivière for his comments and the three anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions and careful reading of the manuscript. This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada: Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarships (Paul-Hus) and, Insight Development [grant number 430-2014-0617] (Desrochers).

Funding Statement

APH was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada ( http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/ ): Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarships. ND was supported the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada ( http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/ ): Insight Development [grant number 430-2014-0617]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Data Availability

Publisher's Note: The article involves the independent analysis of data from publications in PLOS ONE. PLOS ONE staff had no knowledge or involvement in the study design, funding, execution or manuscript preparation. The evaluation and editorial decision for this manuscript have been managed by an Academic Editor independent of PLOS ONE staff, per our standard editorial process. The findings and conclusions reported in this article are strictly those of the author(s).

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Acknowledgements

The acknowledgement section can be used to thank anyone important in the publication of the work who does not qualify for authorship and to declare relevant funding information. The acknowledgement section should not be used to list contributors who meet our criteria for authorship as outlined here .  We urge authors to carefully consider researcher contributions and authorship criteria when involved in multi-region collaborations involving local researchers so as to promote greater equity in research collaborations.  

The section should also not be used to declare competing interests, including any related to funding sources that may gain or lose financially through this publication. These should be declared separately in a competing interest statement. Please refer to the competing interests policy for more information.  Acknowledgements should be brief, and should not include thanks to anonymous referees or editors, inessential words, or effusive comments. 

When acknowledging funding, our recommended best practice is that authors should acknowledge funders and grants on publications when the activities that contributed to that publication:

  • are within scope of the acknowledged grant and
  • arise directly from a specific grant

The following questions can be used to determine if the activities arise from a specific grant: 

  • Are the results included in the publication original and the direct result of experimentation, materials or analysis supported by the grant?
  • Does the grant financially support publication of the manuscript (e.g., through payment of article processing charges)?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, best practice is to acknowledge the funding source and grant number, if the grant requires it. By contrast, if the answer is no to these questions, it is not best practice to acknowledge grant support. In particular, grants that support data generation for distinct studies that are related in topic but that are not relevant for this specific publication should not be acknowledged. Please ensure that relevant funding sources are disclosed for all authors. Authors should also ensure they are aware of any specific acknowledgement requirements from their funders.

An appropriate format for acknowledgement of grant funding is:

A.B.C. discloses support for the research of this work from Funder [grant number xxxx], Funder [grant number xxxx] and Funder [grant number xxxx]. D.E.F. discloses support for publication of this work from Funder [grant number xxxx],  Funder [grant number xxxx] and  Funder [grant number xxxx].

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    Acknowledgements. The acknowledgement section can be used to thank anyone important in the publication of the work who does not qualify for authorship and to declare relevant funding information ...

  23. Where to add acknowledgement in Article

    4. The acknowledgement is usually placed between the conclusion and the references. You should write a sentence mentioning how the other person or persons contributed to the paper or your work. Share. Improve this answer. Follow. answered Sep 15, 2018 at 20:23. SnOwl. 1,496 2 10 11.