Acknowledging the Contribution of Others

Few research works are solely the product of the persons listed as the authors. At a minimum, the need to refer to the writings of others indicates how ideas or data become used to support the argument or conclusion of the writing. In addition to the contributions of previous research or writing, there may be persons or institutions that contributed to the generation of the final product; those contributions require acknowledgment. Very seldom do ideas originate without some basis in previous reading, at a minimum scholars often want to connect the current ideas to the previous generation of scholarship and scholars. Acknowledging the contribution of others both involves an intellectual acknowledgment as well as recognizing those persons who contributed materially to the text under specific ...