Writing acknowledgement in scientific papers and publications

As you already know acknowledgement stands for formal statement recognizing individuals and institutions that made certain contribution to you work. However not everyone who supported you should be acknowledged in the scientific work, instead you should only quote those that contributed directly to your research.  Acknowledgement should be just simple statement of gratitude, not dedication or very emotional testimonial. Therefore you should mention following persons/institutions:

  1. Those who provided scientific guidance,
  2. Those who shared unpublished results
  3. Persons that provided you facilities / equipment
  4. Persons which have participated in the discussions
  5. Technicians, lab assistants
  6. Students
  7. Funding agency, grant number, institution

Having in mind specific scientific setting, it is not appropriate and common to acknowledge the work of:

1. Pre-press operators – graphic designers

2. Persons who provided emotional support

3. Other individuals whose support was non-technical

When quoting individuals whose contribution you intend to acknowledge only use their names without titles. For example write only John Smith, instead Professor John Smith, Chair in IT management department.