how to write acknowledgements in a research paper

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.

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:

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

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).

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?

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.

More Definitions on Acknowledgement

“acknowledgement” vs “acknowledgment”… …what the hack.

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.

Other Popular Acknowledgement Examples

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Acknowledgement Examples for School/College Projects

How-to guides on academic writing and others, introduction to academic writing.

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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.

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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If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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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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Academia Bees

Acknowledgement for Paper Publication (10 Samples)

July 11, 2023

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By Mohsin Khurshid

Acknowledgement for paper publication is a crucial aspect that recognizes the contributions and support received throughout the research process. It holds significant value in academic papers, showcasing appreciation for the individuals and institutions that have played a role in the study’s success. In this article, we will delve into the importance of acknowledgement in paper publication and provide 10 comprehensive samples to guide you in crafting impactful acknowledgements for your own research. Whether you wish to acknowledge research collaborators, funding sources, mentors, or other individuals who have contributed to your work, these samples will assist you in expressing your gratitude effectively. Join us as we explore the art of acknowledgement and discover how to create acknowledgements that resonate with the collaborative nature of scholarly endeavors.

Table of Contents

• 1 Understanding the Importance of Acknowledgement
• 2.1 Sample 1 – Acknowledgement for Research Collaboration
• 2.2 Sample 2 – Acknowledgement for Funding Support
• 2.3 Sample 3 – Acknowledgement for Mentorship and Guidance
• 2.4 Sample 4 – Acknowledgement for Institutional Support
• 2.5 Sample 5 – Acknowledgement for Peer Reviewers
• 2.6 Sample 6 – Acknowledgement for Data and Materials
• 2.7 Sample 7 – Acknowledgement for Technical Assistance
• 2.8 Sample 8 – Acknowledgement for Editorial or Proofreading Assistance
• 2.9 Sample 9 – Acknowledgement for Inspiration and Support
• 2.10 Sample 10 – Acknowledgement for Personal Support
• 4 Conclusion

Understanding the Importance of Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement plays a crucial role in academic papers, serving multiple purposes within the scholarly community. Firstly, it provides an opportunity for authors to express gratitude and appreciation towards individuals, organizations, or institutions that have contributed to the research project in various ways. These contributions can include financial support, data collection assistance, intellectual guidance, or access to resources.

Beyond mere gratitude, acknowledgement serves as a means of giving credit where it is due. It recognizes the valuable input and collaboration of others, ensuring that their contributions are acknowledged and acknowledged by the academic community. By acknowledging the efforts of others, researchers uphold the principles of academic integrity and promote transparency in the research process.

Ethical considerations are also an integral part of writing an acknowledgement section. Authors must carefully navigate issues such as conflicts of interest, ensuring that they disclose any potential conflicts and maintain objectivity in their acknowledgements. Additionally, it is essential to respect the privacy and confidentiality of individuals mentioned in the acknowledgement, seeking their permission before including their names or affiliations.

Conventions related to acknowledgement may vary across disciplines and academic journals. Authors should familiarize themselves with the specific guidelines and requirements of their target journal to ensure compliance. Some journals may provide templates or specific instructions on how to structure the acknowledgement section, while others may have specific word limits or content restrictions.

In summary, understanding the importance of acknowledgement in academic papers is crucial for researchers. It serves as a means of expressing gratitude, giving credit to contributors, upholding academic integrity, and adhering to ethical considerations. By following conventions and guidelines specific to their field, authors can effectively convey their appreciation and recognition in the acknowledgement section of their paper.

10 Samples of Acknowledgement for Paper Publication

Explore these detailed samples of acknowledgements to effectively acknowledge contributors in your research papers.

Sample 1 – Acknowledgement for Research Collaboration

Acknowledging the collaborative efforts and contributions of research team members is a crucial aspect of the acknowledgement section in academic papers. The following is a detailed sample acknowledgement that demonstrates how to acknowledge research collaborators and team members:

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the members of the research team who contributed to the successful completion of this study. Their dedication, expertise, and commitment were instrumental in the realization of our research objectives. I am thankful for their valuable insights, collaborative spirit, and unwavering support throughout the project.

I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to [Name], [Name], and [Name] for their invaluable contributions to the data collection process. Their meticulous efforts ensured the accuracy and reliability of our research findings. Additionally, I am grateful to [Name] for their assistance in data analysis and interpretation, which greatly enhanced the depth and quality of our research outcomes.

Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge the guidance and mentorship provided by [Name]. Their expertise in [area of expertise] was invaluable in shaping the direction of this research and refining our methodology. Their constructive feedback and insightful suggestions played a pivotal role in elevating the overall quality of this study.

I am also indebted to the support staff and administrators who facilitated the smooth operation of our research activities. Their assistance in securing necessary permissions, organizing logistics, and managing administrative tasks was vital to the success of this project.

Lastly, I would like to express my deep appreciation to the funding agency or organization that provided financial support for this research. Their investment in our work enabled us to conduct this study and make meaningful contributions to the field.

In conclusion, I am immensely grateful to all the individuals who contributed to this research collaboration. Their dedication, expertise, and unwavering support have been instrumental in the accomplishment of our research goals. Without their invaluable contributions, this study would not have been possible.

Sample 2 – Acknowledgement for Funding Support

Acknowledging the financial support received for research is an important aspect of the acknowledgement section in academic papers. The following is a detailed sample acknowledgement that demonstrates how to acknowledge funding support:

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to [Funding Agency/Organization] for their generous financial support of this research project. Their funding played a crucial role in the successful execution of this study and the attainment of our research goals.

The support provided by [Funding Agency/Organization] enabled us to conduct data collection, analysis, and interpretation, as well as cover expenses related to research materials, participant recruitment, and travel, where applicable. Their investment in our work has significantly contributed to the quality and impact of our research findings.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to the grant administrators and program officers at [Funding Agency/Organization] for their guidance and assistance throughout the grant application and management process. Their expertise and support were invaluable in ensuring a smooth and efficient funding experience.

Furthermore, I am grateful to my research team members and collaborators who have contributed their time, expertise, and efforts to this project. Their dedication and hard work have been instrumental in the successful completion of this research.

In conclusion, I am deeply thankful to [Funding Agency/Organization] for their financial support, without which this research would not have been possible. Their investment in our work has made a significant impact and has contributed to advancements in the field. I am truly grateful for their commitment to supporting research and fostering academic growth.

Sample 3 – Acknowledgement for Mentorship and Guidance

Acknowledging the contributions of mentors and advisors is essential in recognizing the guidance and support they have provided throughout the research process. The following is a detailed sample acknowledgement that demonstrates how to acknowledge mentorship and guidance:

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my mentor, [Mentor’s Name], for their invaluable guidance, expertise, and support throughout the course of this research. Their extensive knowledge, insightful feedback, and unwavering encouragement have been instrumental in shaping the direction and quality of this study.

I am truly grateful for [Mentor’s Name]’s dedication and commitment to my academic growth. Their mentorship has not only expanded my understanding of the subject matter but has also enhanced my research skills and critical thinking abilities. Their willingness to invest their time and effort in providing guidance and constructive criticism has greatly contributed to the successful completion of this research project.

I would also like to extend my appreciation to [Advisor’s Name] for their valuable input and advice throughout the research process. Their expertise in [specific field or area] has been invaluable in shaping the methodology and interpretation of the findings. Their constructive feedback and thoughtful suggestions have significantly enhanced the quality and rigor of this study.

Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge the contributions of other members of my research committee, [Committee Member 1’s Name] and [Committee Member 2’s Name]. Their expertise and insights have provided valuable perspectives and have contributed to the overall excellence of this research.

In conclusion, I am sincerely grateful to my mentor, [Mentor’s Name], and my advisor, [Advisor’s Name], for their unwavering support and guidance. Their mentorship and expertise have been transformative in my academic journey, and I am privileged to have had the opportunity to learn from their wisdom and experience.

Sample 4 – Acknowledgement for Institutional Support

Acknowledging the support and resources provided by institutions is crucial in recognizing their contribution to the research project. The following is a detailed sample acknowledgement that demonstrates how to acknowledge institutional support:

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to [Institution’s Name] for their unwavering support and provision of resources throughout the course of this research. The research facilities and infrastructure provided by [Institution’s Name] have played a significant role in the successful completion of this study.

I am grateful for the access to state-of-the-art laboratories, research materials, and technological resources offered by [Institution’s Name]. These resources have been instrumental in conducting experiments, gathering data, and analyzing findings. The research environment provided by [Institution’s Name] has fostered an atmosphere of innovation and collaboration, allowing for the pursuit of academic excellence.

I would also like to extend my appreciation to the administrative staff and personnel at [Institution’s Name] for their assistance and support throughout the research process. Their responsiveness and willingness to provide guidance on administrative matters have been invaluable.

Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by [Institution’s Name]. The research grants and scholarships awarded by [Institution’s Name] have enabled the realization of this project and have alleviated the financial constraints associated with conducting research.

In conclusion, I am deeply grateful to [Institution’s Name] for their unwavering support, provision of resources, and financial assistance. Their commitment to promoting research and academic excellence has been instrumental in the successful completion of this study.

Sample 5 – Acknowledgement for Peer Reviewers

Acknowledging the contributions of peer reviewers is essential in recognizing their valuable feedback and input towards improving the quality of the research. The following is a detailed sample acknowledgement that demonstrates how to acknowledge peer reviewers:

I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the anonymous peer reviewers who generously dedicated their time and expertise to review and provide constructive feedback on this research paper. Their insightful comments and suggestions have significantly enhanced the quality and rigor of this study.

The meticulous review process conducted by the peer reviewers has played a crucial role in strengthening the methodology, refining the arguments, and improving the overall clarity and coherence of the research. Their expertise and critical evaluation have helped in identifying and addressing potential gaps, ensuring the accuracy and validity of the findings.

I am grateful for the valuable contributions made by the peer reviewers in shaping this paper into its final form. Their commitment to scholarly excellence and their dedication to advancing the field have been instrumental in improving the quality and impact of this research.

While their identities remain anonymous, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to each and every peer reviewer who played a part in the review process. Their time, expertise, and feedback are deeply appreciated.

Sample 6 – Acknowledgement for Data and Materials

Acknowledging the sources of data, materials, or tools used in the research is crucial to give proper credit and recognition. The following is a detailed sample acknowledgement that demonstrates how to acknowledge data and materials:

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to [Name/Organization] for providing access to the [Specify the data/materials/tools] used in this research. Their contribution has been invaluable in facilitating the data collection process and enabling the analysis conducted in this study.

The [Specify the data/materials/tools] have played a pivotal role in the success of this research, providing essential insights, information, and resources that have contributed to the depth and quality of the findings. Without their support and cooperation, this research would not have been possible.

I am deeply appreciative of the efforts made by [Name/Organization] in making the [Specify the data/materials/tools] available and ensuring their reliability and relevance to the research objectives. Their commitment to data sharing and collaborative research has greatly enriched the outcomes of this study.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to the individuals involved in the collection, organization, and maintenance of the [Specify the data/materials/tools]. Their dedication and professionalism have been instrumental in making these resources accessible and usable for this research.

Sample 7 – Acknowledgement for Technical Assistance

Acknowledging the individuals or organizations that provided technical assistance is essential to recognize their contributions. The following is a detailed sample acknowledgement that demonstrates how to acknowledge technical support:

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to [Name/Organization] for their invaluable technical assistance throughout the course of this research. Their expertise and support have played a crucial role in the successful execution of this project.

The technical assistance provided by [Name/Organization] has been instrumental in overcoming various challenges and ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the experimental procedures. Their guidance and knowledge have greatly enhanced the quality of the data collected and the interpretation of the results.

I am grateful for their willingness to share their expertise and resources, providing guidance on experimental techniques, troubleshooting technical issues, and offering valuable insights into data analysis. Their assistance has significantly contributed to the overall success of this research endeavor.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the individuals within [Name/Organization] who have directly contributed to this project. Their dedication, professionalism, and prompt response to queries have made the research process smoother and more efficient.

Sample 8 – Acknowledgement for Editorial or Proofreading Assistance

Acknowledging the individuals who have contributed to the editing and proofreading process is essential to recognize their valuable contributions. The following is a detailed sample acknowledgement that demonstrates how to acknowledge editorial or proofreading assistance:

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to [Name/Names] for their invaluable assistance in the editing and proofreading of this manuscript. Their keen attention to detail, expertise in language and grammar, and commitment to improving the clarity and readability of the content have significantly enhanced the quality of this work.

The diligent efforts of [Name/Names] in meticulously reviewing the manuscript, suggesting revisions, and providing valuable feedback have played a crucial role in refining the overall structure, organization, and coherence of the document. Their editorial skills have helped to ensure the accuracy and precision of the scientific content, enhancing the credibility and impact of the research findings.

I am deeply appreciative of their dedication and professionalism throughout the editing process. Their constructive criticism, insightful suggestions, and meticulous proofreading have greatly contributed to the refinement of the language, grammar, and style of this manuscript.

I would also like to extend my thanks to [Name/Names] for their timely and efficient collaboration, as well as their willingness to accommodate multiple rounds of revisions. Their commitment to excellence and their commitment to producing a polished final product are greatly appreciated.

Sample 9 – Acknowledgement for Inspiration and Support

Acknowledging the individuals or sources of inspiration that have contributed to the research is important in recognizing their impact on the project. The following is a detailed sample acknowledgement that demonstrates how to acknowledge inspiration and support:

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to [Name/Names] for their unwavering support and inspiration throughout this research endeavor. Their encouragement, guidance, and insightful discussions have been instrumental in shaping the direction and depth of this study.

The unwavering support of [Name/Names] has been a constant source of motivation, providing the necessary encouragement to overcome challenges and pursue innovative ideas. Their expertise, wisdom, and constructive feedback have played a pivotal role in refining the research objectives, methodology, and interpretation of findings.

I am also indebted to [Source/Event/Book/Quote] for serving as a source of inspiration and influencing the conceptual framework of this study. The [Source/Event/Book/Quote] has provided valuable insights and perspectives that have guided my thinking and contributed to the overall development of this research.

Additionally, I would like to acknowledge the support and understanding of my family, friends, and colleagues, whose unwavering belief in my abilities has sustained me throughout this research journey. Their encouragement, understanding, and patience have been invaluable, providing the necessary emotional support and creating an environment conducive to pursuing this endeavor.

Sample 10 – Acknowledgement for Personal Support

Acknowledging the emotional support provided by family, friends, and loved ones is essential in recognizing their role in the research process. The following is a detailed sample acknowledgement that demonstrates how to acknowledge personal support:

I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my family, friends, and loved ones for their unwavering support throughout this research journey. Their love, understanding, and encouragement have been the pillars that have kept me motivated and focused during challenging times.

To my [Family Member(s)], your unwavering belief in me and your constant encouragement have been the driving force behind my pursuit of this research. Your sacrifices, understanding, and patience have provided me with the necessary space and time to dedicate myself to this endeavor. I am forever grateful for your unconditional love and support.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to my dear friends who have been a source of inspiration and motivation. Your unwavering belief in my abilities, your listening ear, and your words of encouragement have given me the strength and confidence to overcome obstacles and pursue this research with dedication.

In addition, I am grateful to [Name(s)] for their continuous support, understanding, and patience. Their presence and unwavering support have provided me with the emotional stability and reassurance needed to navigate through the challenges of this research journey.

Finally, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to all the participants who generously shared their time, experiences, and insights for this research. Without their willingness to contribute, this study would not have been possible.

Also, read tips and samples on writing acknowledgement for your internship report .

Writing an acknowledgement for a paper involves expressing gratitude to individuals or entities who have contributed to the research. It typically includes mentioning the names, roles, and specific contributions of those being acknowledged.

To acknowledge means to recognize and show appreciation for the contributions or support received. In the context of paper publication, it refers to acknowledging the individuals or organizations that have played a role in the research process.

In an acknowledgement section, you can express gratitude to individuals, institutions, or funding agencies that have supported or contributed to the research. You can mention their names, roles, and specific contributions in a sincere and respectful manner.

The correct spelling of “acknowledge” is A-C-K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E.

An acknowledgement statement refers to a written expression of gratitude and appreciation towards individuals or organizations for their contributions or support. It is a way to formally recognize their involvement in the research process and show gratitude for their assistance.

In conclusion, acknowledgement plays a vital role in paper publication, allowing researchers to express gratitude and recognize the contributions of individuals and institutions who have supported their work. By acknowledging research collaborators, mentors, funding sources, peer reviewers, and others, researchers demonstrate their appreciation and foster a sense of community within the academic sphere.

It is important to tailor acknowledgements to the specific research context, considering the unique contributions and support received throughout the research process. Each acknowledgement should reflect the genuine appreciation and recognition of those who have played a significant role in the success of the research.

As researchers, let us not underestimate the power of acknowledgement. It not only acknowledges the contributions of others but also serves as a reminder of the collaborative and interconnected nature of academic work. By expressing gratitude and recognizing the efforts of those who have supported us, we contribute to a positive research culture and encourage further collaboration and support in the academic community . In closing, let us remember that acknowledgement is not just a formality but a sincere gesture of appreciation. It is a way to honor the collaborative nature of research and the individuals and institutions that have contributed to our academic journey. May we continue to acknowledge and support one another as we advance knowledge and make meaningful contributions to our respective fields.

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How to Write Acknowledgement in Research Paper

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."

Research participants and collaborators:

"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.

Frequently Asked Questions

In a research paper, the acknowledgment section is where the author shows appreciation to those who helped with the research. It's usually found at the start of the paper, before the main text begins. However, the exact location varies depending on the university guidelines.

Citations are formal ways to acknowledge the sources you used, while acknowledgments are more personal and can serve as a confidential way to thank someone for their help or contribution.

The purpose of including acknowledgement is to express gratitude to everyone who assisted with the research but didn't meet the criteria for being listed as an author.

There is no minimum length for writing an acknowledgement in a research paper but it should not be more than one page.

If you conducted the research entirely by yourself and received no assistance or support from others, it's not necessary to include acknowledgements. However, if you received any form of support or assistance, even if minimal, it's appropriate to acknowledge it.

Yes, it's appropriate to acknowledge funding sources in your research.

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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 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.

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:

•   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.

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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Dissertation acknowledgments [with examples]

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.

Recognizing Contributions: Acknowledge In Research Paper

Learn how to acknowledge in research paper with our simple guide, and ensure that your work gains recognition.

When we work on any project, it’s not just about our individual effort, it’s about teamwork as well. It’s important to acknowledge the contributions of others who have helped you along the way. This is where the acknowledgment section comes in. In this part of your paper, you can express your gratitude to those who have supported you throughout the research process, such as funders, advisors, assistants, collaborators, participants, and editors.

However, it’s important to be mindful of ethical considerations and avoid any promotion or advertising of specific individuals or organizations. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about acknowledgments, including how to acknowledge in research paper ,  tips for writing them, common mistakes to avoid, and ethical considerations. So, let’s get started!

What Is Acknowledgement In A Research Paper?

The acknowledgment section in a research paper credits individuals, institutions, or organizations that aided in the research or manuscript preparation. It’s usually found after the conclusion.

While optional, acknowledgments are commonly added to recognize and thank contributors for their efforts. This section typically starts with a statement thanking those who funded or supported the project, along with colleagues, research assistants, or other contributors who provided valuable feedback or assistance.

Being specific and detailing the contributions of each individual or organization is crucial to show their importance in the research process. However, it’s unnecessary to acknowledge everyone who helped, and acknowledgments should be kept brief and relevant to the project.

Why Is Acknowledgment Important?

Acknowledgment holds significant importance in research as it acknowledges and provides credit to individuals or organizations who have contributed to the research project. It expresses gratitude for their guidance, support, and assistance during the research process.

Acknowledgments are commonly included in research papers to build relationships and encourage future collaborations with those who have supported the research. By acknowledging their contributions, researchers demonstrate their appreciation for the input of others and the importance of collaboration in the research process.

Moreover, the acknowledgment section ensures academic integrity by recognizing and crediting all contributors to the research project. It also prevents any potential issues related to plagiarism or lack of attribution. 

Who Should Be Acknowledged?

Acknowledgments in a research paper should recognize and give credit to individuals, organizations, or institutions that contributed to the research project in some way. This can include: 

• Funding sources: Acknowledge those who provided financial support for the research project.
• Academic advisors or mentors: Acknowledge those who provided guidance or supervision throughout the research process.
• Research assistants: Acknowledge those who provided technical or administrative support during the research.
• Participants : Acknowledge those who took part in the research study, such as survey respondents.
• Collaborators : Acknowledge colleagues or other researchers who contributed to the research project in some way.
• Editors or proofreaders: Acknowledge those who helped with editing or proofreading the manuscript .
• Institutions or organizations: Acknowledge the institution or organization that provided resources or support for the research project. 

Types Of Acknowledgement

Acknowledgment in a research paper can take various forms, depending on the purpose and context of the project. Here are some common types of acknowledgments: 

1. Formal Acknowledgments

These are typically written in a formal tone and are used to recognize and give credit to people, organizations, or institutions that provide financial or technical support to the research project. These acknowledgments often appear at the beginning or end of the research paper and may include formal language and formatting.

2. Informal Acknowledgments

These acknowledgments are often more personal and informal in tone. They may include acknowledging friends, family members, or colleagues who provided emotional support or helped in some way during the research process.

3. Professional Acknowledgments

These acknowledgments are typically used in academic or professional settings and are aimed at giving credit to individuals or organizations that contributed to the research project. These acknowledgments may include thanking mentors, colleagues, research assistants, or funding agencies.

4. Collaborative Acknowledgments

These acknowledgments are used to recognize the collaborative nature of research projects. They may include acknowledging co-authors, collaborators, or other researchers who contributed to the project in some way.

Tips For Writing An Acknowledgement

When writing acknowledgment in a research paper, it’s important to keep the following tips in mind: 

• Be specific: Clearly mention the contributions made by individuals or organizations, and how they helped in the research process.
• Use appropriate tone: Write in a professional tone and avoid using overly emotional language.
• Keep it concise: Avoid lengthy paragraphs and keep the acknowledgment section brief and relevant.
• Follow the required format: Check the guidelines provided by the journal or institution and ensure that you follow the required format.
• Proofread: Carefully proofread the acknowledgment section for any errors or typos.
• Be grateful: Show appreciation and gratitude to the individuals or organizations who contributed to the research project.
• Avoid self-promotion: The acknowledgment section should not be used to promote oneself or one’s organization.

 Examples Of Acknowledgement

Examples of acknowledgments in a research paper include thanking the funding sources, academic advisors or mentors, research assistants, participants, collaborators, editors or proofreaders, and institutions or organizations that provided support. Here are some sample acknowledgments that are concise and relevant to the research project:

Acknowledge In Research Paper: Example 1

“I would like to thank Dr. Ram for his invaluable guidance and support throughout this project. I am also grateful to my research assistant, Priya, for her technical expertise and administrative assistance. This project would not have been possible without the generous financial support of the XYZ Foundation. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the study participants who generously shared their time and insights.”

Acknowledge In Research Paper: Example 2

“I am indebted to Dr. Mary for her continuous support and feedback throughout the research process. I also want to thank my colleagues, Shahin and Sarah, for their valuable input and suggestions. The editorial assistance provided by XYZ Editing Services was also greatly appreciated. I am also grateful to the ABC Institution for providing the necessary resources for this research project.”

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Writing An Acknowledgement

When writing acknowledgment, it’s important to avoid certain mistakes, such as:

• Forgetting to acknowledge someone who contributed to the research project.
• Using vague language instead of specific details about how someone contributed.
• Focusing too much on personal anecdotes or stories, rather than keeping the acknowledgment concise and relevant to the research project.
• Using the acknowledgment section to promote or advertise specific individuals or organizations.
• Forgetting to proofread the acknowledgment section for errors in grammar or spelling.
• Including acknowledgments that are not relevant to the research project.
• Making it too formal or too casual, rather than matching the tone of the rest of the research paper.

To avoid these mistakes, it’s important to carefully consider who should be acknowledged, what specific contributions they made, and to keep the language concise and relevant to the research project. It’s also helpful to have someone else review the acknowledgment section to ensure that it’s free of errors and strikes the right tone.

How To Acknowledge In Research Paper? 

• When citing an acknowledgment in a research paper, it should be listed as a separate section at the end of the paper, following the references section. It should be titled “Acknowledgement” and be placed after the conclusion but before the reference list.
• Acknowledgment section should not be included within the text citation or reference list. However, if a person or organization mentioned in the acknowledgment section was cited within the text, it should be included in the in-text citation and reference list.
• It’s important to make sure that acknowledgments are cited correctly in order to give credit to those who contributed to the research project. This will help to ensure academic integrity and avoid plagiarism. Learn more about Plagiarism here .

Ethical Considerations For Acknowledging Others In Your Research Paper

It is essential to consider ethical principles when acknowledging others in your research paper. First and foremost, ensure that you acknowledge all individuals and organizations that made significant contributions to your research. This acknowledgment must be honest and accurate and should not falsely claim credit for the work of others.

Additionally, it is crucial to obtain consent from individuals before acknowledging them in your research paper, particularly when using their personal information. Ensure that you have informed them about how their contribution will be acknowledged and seek their permission to do so.

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Sowjanya is a passionate writer and an avid reader. She holds MBA in Agribusiness Management and now is working as a content writer. She loves to play with words and hopes to make a difference in the world through her writings. Apart from writing, she is interested in reading fiction novels and doing craftwork. She also loves to travel and explore different cuisines and spend time with her family and friends.

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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.

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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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Thesis Acknowledgements Examples

5 Examples For Your Inspiration

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

The acknowledgements section of your thesis or dissertation is an opportunity to say thanks to all the people who helped you along your research journey. In this post, we’ll share five thesis acknowledgement examples to provide you with some inspiration.

Overview: Acknowledgements Examples

• The acknowledgements 101
• Example:  Formal and professional
• Example:  Warm and personal
• Example:  Challenge-centric
• Example:  Institution-centric
• Example:  Reflective and philosophical
• FREE Acknowledgements template

Acknowledgements 101: The Basics

The acknowledgements section in your thesis or dissertation is where you express gratitude to those who helped bring your project to fruition. This section is typically brief (a page or less) and less formal, but it’s crucial to thank the right individuals in the right order .

As a rule of thumb, you’ll usually begin with academic support : your supervisors, advisors, and faculty members. Next, you’ll acknowledge any funding bodies or sponsors that supported your research. You’ll then follow this with your intellectual contributors , such as colleagues and peers. Lastly, you’ll typically thank your personal support network , including family, friends, and even pets who offered emotional support during your studies.

As you can probably see, this order moves from the most formal acknowledgements to the least . Typically, your supervisor is mentioned first, due to their significant role in guiding and potentially evaluating your work. However, while this structure is recommended, it’s essential to adapt it based on any specific guidelines from your university. So, be sure to always check (and adhere to) any requirements or norms specific to your university.

With that groundwork laid, let’s look at a few dissertation and thesis acknowledgement examples . If you’d like more, check out our collection of dissertation examples here .

Need a helping hand?

Example #1: Formal and Professional

This acknowledgement formally expresses gratitude to academic mentors and peers, emphasising professional support and academic guidance.

I extend my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Jane Smith, for her unwavering support and insightful critiques throughout my research journey. Her deep commitment to academic excellence and meticulous attention to detail have significantly shaped this dissertation. I am equally thankful to the members of my thesis committee, Dr. John Doe and Dr. Emily White, for their constructive feedback and essential suggestions that enhanced the quality of my work.

My appreciation also goes to the faculty and staff in the Department of Biology at University College London, whose resources and assistance have been invaluable. I would also like to acknowledge my peers for their camaraderie and the stimulating discussions that inspired me throughout my academic journey. Their collective wisdom and encouragement have been a cornerstone of my research experience.

Finally, my sincere thanks to the technical staff whose expertise in managing laboratory equipment was crucial for my experiments. Their patience and readiness to assist at all times have left a profound impact on the completion of my project.

Example #2: Warm and Personal

This acknowledgement warmly credits the emotional and personal support received from family, friends and an approachable mentor during the research process.

This thesis is a reflection of the unwavering support and boundless love I received from my family and friends during this challenging academic pursuit. I owe an immense debt of gratitude to my parents, who nurtured my curiosity and supported my educational endeavours from the very beginning.

To my partner, Alex, your endless patience and understanding, especially during the most demanding phases of this research, have been my anchor. A heartfelt thank you to my supervisor, Dr. Mark Brown, whose mentorship extended beyond the academic realm into personal guidance, providing comfort and motivation during tough times.

I am also thankful for my friends, who provided both distractions when needed and encouragement when it seemed impossible to continue. The discussions and unwavering support from my peers at the university have enriched my research experience, making this journey not only possible but also enjoyable. Their presence and insights have been pivotal in navigating the complexities of my research topic.

Example #3: Inclusive of Challenges

This acknowledgement recognises the wide range of support received during unexpected personal and academic challenges, highlighting resilience and communal support.

The path to completing this dissertation has been fraught with both professional challenges and personal adversities. I am profoundly grateful for the enduring support of my supervisor, Dr. Lisa Green, whose steadfast belief in my capabilities and academic potential encouraged me to persevere even during my lowest moments. Her guidance was a beacon of light in times of doubt.

I must also express my deepest appreciation for my family, who stepped in not only with emotional reassurance, but also with critical financial support, when unexpected personal challenges arose. Their unconditional love and sacrifice have been the foundation of my resilience and success.

I am thankful, too, for the support services at the university, including the counselling centre, whose staff provided me with the tools to manage stress and maintain focus on my academic goals. Each of these individuals and institutions played a crucial role in my journey, reminding me that the pursuit of knowledge is not a solo expedition but a communal effort.

Example #4: Institution-Centric

This acknowledgement succinctly appreciates the financial, academic, and operational support provided by the university and its staff.

This dissertation would not have been possible without the generous financial support from the University of Edinburgh Scholarship Programme, which enabled me to focus fully on my research without financial burden. I am profoundly grateful to my advisor, Professor Richard Miles, for his sage advice, rigorous academic guidance, and the confidence he instilled in me. His expertise in the field of microbiology greatly enriched my work.

I would also like to thank the staff at the university library, whose assistance was indispensable. Their patience and willingness to help locate rare and essential resources facilitated a thorough and comprehensive literature review. Additionally, the administrative and technical staff, who often go unmentioned, provided necessary support that greatly enhanced my research experience. Their dedication and hard work create an environment conducive to academic success.

Lastly, my peers’ encouragement and the intellectual environment at the university have been vital in completing my research.

Example #5: Reflective and philosophical

This acknowledgement reflects on the philosophical growth and personal insights gained through the support of mentors, peers, and family, framing the dissertation as a journey of intellectual discovery.

Completing this thesis has been not only an academic challenge but also a profound journey of personal and philosophical growth.

I am immensely grateful to my mentor, Professor Sarah Johnson, for encouraging me to explore complex ideas and to challenge conventional wisdom. Her guidance helped me navigate the philosophical underpinnings of my research and deepened my analytical skills. My fellow students in the Philosophy Department provided a supportive and intellectually stimulating community. Our discussions extended beyond the classroom, offering new insights and perspectives that were crucial to my thesis.

I am also deeply thankful for my family, whose intellectual curiosity and spirited philosophical debates at home sparked my interest in philosophy from a young age. Their continuous support and belief in my academic pursuits have been instrumental in my success.

This dissertation reflects not only my work but also the collective support of everyone who has touched my life academically and personally. The journey has taught me the value of questioning and the importance of diverse perspectives in enriching our understanding of complex philosophical issues.

FREE Acknowledgements Template

To help fast-track your writing process, we’ve created a free, fully editable template . This template covers all the necessary content for a generic thesis or dissertation acknowledgements section. If you’re interested, you can download a copy here .

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How to write a unique thesis acknowledgement (+ FAQs)

Crafting a thesis acknowledgement is typically one of the final steps in completing a thesis. This post aims to assist you in gaining insights and guidance by addressing common questions related to thesis acknowledgements. By doing so, it enables you to create a distinct and meaningful acknowledgment section that reflects your gratitude and appreciation.

What is a thesis acknowledgement?

A thesis acknowledgement is a special section commonly included at the beginning of a thesis or dissertation. In this section, the author of the thesis expresses gratitude and appreciation to individuals or groups who have contributed to the successful completion of their academic work. It is a way for the author to acknowledge the support, guidance, and assistance they received during the research and writing process.

Do I need a thesis acknowledgement?

Acknowledging these contributions is not only considerate but also showcases your gratitude and reflects well on your character. Including a thesis acknowledgement demonstrates your appreciation for the help you received throughout your academic journey, underscoring the collaborative nature of research and academic pursuits.

Who should I thank in my thesis acknowledgment?

Apart from these essentials, you have the freedom to thank anyone you desire. Common mentions include parents, partners, friends, peers, and colleagues. Some may even extend gratitude to pets or coffee! Injecting humor is acceptable, but maintaining a certain level of formality is advised, as explained in the subsequent section.

How to deal with a thesis supervisor with whom I had a challenging relationship in my thesis acknowledgement?

How can i make my thesis acknowledgement uniquely personal.

For instance, if you are thanking your fellow thesis writers, you can say something like: “Long study sessions at the library with John and Sabine made thesis writing a joyful experience.” This demonstrates the specific way they contributed to your journey.

How formal should a thesis acknowledgement be?

Avoid including details of personal experiences like drinking excesses with friends or lavish parties to cope with thesis stress. Such content could create a negative impression and should be avoided.

To what extent should I express personal sentiments in my thesis acknowledgement?

And of course make sure that the information you reveal about the people you thank, they are also comfortable with it. You should not, for instance, describe your messy breakup with a person and even worse naming the person by name. Instead, you can write something more neutral in a way that people who know you well still know what you mean. For instance, you could thank your friends for always being there for you during challenging times, which you are grateful for.

How should I structure my thesis acknowledgement?

The third common method is essentially the reverse of the second one, starting with personal relationships and ending with formal ones. In this arrangement, you begin by thanking your close friends and family members for their unwavering support, then move on to acknowledge professional mentors who contributed to your academic growth, and finally conclude the acknowledgement with appreciation for your thesis supervisor.

How long should a thesis acknowledgement be?

Where is the thesis acknowledgement located.

The thesis acknowledgement is typically positioned right at the beginning of the thesis, following the title page and preceding the table of contents. This placement ensures that it remains distinct from the academic content of the thesis.

Where can I find examples of thesis acknowledgements?

Master academia, get new content delivered directly to your inbox, how to thrive in academia as an extrovert, how to end a professional email in a university setting, related articles, how to write a fantastic thesis introduction (+15 examples), how to find a reputable academic dissertation editor, how to write a literature review introduction (+ examples), the importance of sleep for efficient thesis writing.

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

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, PhD

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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.

Back │ Next

How to Draft the Acknowledgment Section of a Manuscript

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.

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!

Thanks!!! This information helped me a lot in finishing my research paper.

This information was very useful for preparing this paper.

We would like to thank Enago (www.enago.com) for the English language review.”

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Acknowledgements Example for an Academic or Scientific 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. 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: PhD Thesis Editing Services • 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. 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 proofreading 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.’

Why Our Editing and Proofreading Services? At Proof-Reading-Service.com we offer the highest quality journal article editing , phd thesis editing and proofreading services via our large and extremely dedicated team of academic and scientific professionals. All of our proofreaders are native speakers of English who have earned their own postgraduate degrees, and their areas of specialisation cover such a wide range of disciplines that we are able to help our international clientele with research editing to improve and perfect all kinds of academic manuscripts for successful publication. Many of the carefully trained members of our expert editing and proofreading team work predominantly on articles intended for publication in scholarly journals, applying painstaking journal editing standards to ensure that the references and formatting used in each paper are in conformity with the journal’s instructions for authors and to correct any grammar, spelling, punctuation or simple typing errors. In this way, we enable our clients to report their research in the clear and accurate ways required to impress acquisitions proofreaders and achieve publication.

Our scientific proofreading services for the authors of a wide variety of scientific journal papers are especially popular, but we also offer manuscript proofreading services and have the experience and expertise to proofread and edit manuscripts in all scholarly disciplines, as well as beyond them. We have team members who specialise in medical proofreading services , and some of our experts dedicate their time exclusively to PhD proofreading and master’s proofreading , offering research students the opportunity to improve their use of formatting and language through the most exacting PhD thesis editing and dissertation proofreading practices. Whether you are preparing a conference paper for presentation, polishing a progress report to share with colleagues, or facing the daunting task of editing and perfecting any kind of scholarly document for publication, a qualified member of our professional team can provide invaluable assistance and give you greater confidence in your written work.

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• Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples

Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples

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

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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Acknowledgement in Research Paper | How to Write | Perfect Example

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What is acknowledgement in research paper?

Acknowledgement in a research paper is the section where the author expresses gratitude to individuals and organizations who have contributed to the completion of the study. This section is usually placed at the beginning or end of the paper and is an important part of the research process. It allows the author to recognize the support, assistance, and guidance they have received from others in the course of their research.

What is the purpose of acknowledgement in research paper?

The acknowledgement section is an opportunity for the author to show appreciation for anyone who has helped them in the research process, including mentors, advisors, colleagues, and funding agencies. It is also a way to acknowledge the contributions of participants, interviewees, or anyone else who has played a role in the study.

Acknowledgements can also include thanks to individuals who have provided critical feedback, technical assistance, or resources that have been essential to the research project. Overall, this section is a way for the author to show their appreciation for the collaborative and supportive nature of the research community.

How to write acknowledgement in research paper?

• Identify Key Contributors : Make a list of individuals and organizations that have contributed significantly to your research. This includes advisors, mentors, collaborators, funders, participants, and institutions.
• Understand the Purpose : Acknowledgments are meant to recognize and thank those who have supported or contributed to your research in various ways. Understand the purpose of this section is to express gratitude and recognize their contributions.
• Be Genuine and Specific : Your acknowledgments should be sincere and specific. Avoid generic expressions of thanks and instead, mention the specific contributions each person or organization made to your research.
• Start with Formality : Begin your acknowledgment section with a formal tone and expression of gratitude. Address individuals with their appropriate titles, such as Dr., Prof., Mr., or Ms., and mention any institutional affiliations if relevant.
• Personalize Your Thanks : Tailor your acknowledgments to acknowledge each individual’s specific contributions. Mention how their support, guidance, or expertise influenced your research or contributed to its success.
• Maintain Professionalism : While acknowledgments can be personal, maintain a professional tone and avoid overly informal language or colloquialisms. Remember that this section is part of your scholarly work.
• Consider Cultural Sensitivities : Be mindful of cultural norms and sensitivities when expressing gratitude, especially if your research involves international collaborations. Tailor your acknowledgments to reflect cultural expectations or customs, as appropriate.
• Proofread Carefully : Ensure your acknowledgments are free of grammatical errors and typos. Take the time to review and edit this section to ensure clarity and coherence.
• Respect Space Limitations : While it’s important to acknowledge all key contributors, be mindful of space limitations in your research paper. Prioritize mentioning those who made significant contributions while being respectful of length constraints.
• End on a Positive Note : Conclude your acknowledgment section with a positive and appreciative tone. Express your gratitude to everyone who supported your research journey, including family, friends, colleagues, and institutions.

Example of Acknowledgement in Research

I am immensely grateful to the individuals and organizations whose support and guidance have been instrumental in the completion of this research paper. Their assistance and expertise have significantly contributed to the development and refinement of my study.

Firstly, I extend my heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Aurora Rivera, my mentor and advisor throughout this research journey. Her insightful feedback, encouragement, and scholarly guidance have been invaluable in shaping the direction and methodology of my study.

I am also deeply thankful to Mr. Santiago Cruz, Director of Research at the Philippine Social Sciences Institute, for his generous support and assistance in accessing research resources. His expertise and encouragement have greatly facilitated the progress of my research.

Special gratitude is extended to my research collaborators, including Dr. Sofia Ramirez and Mr. Miguel Hernandez, for their collaborative efforts and insightful perspectives that have enriched the depth and analysis of my research findings.

I would like to acknowledge the valuable contributions of the staff and researchers at the Philippine Research Center for Social Sciences, whose support and expertise have been indispensable in navigating complex research methodologies and data analysis.

Furthermore, I extend my sincere appreciation to the participants of my study for their cooperation and willingness to share their experiences, which have provided essential insights and perspectives.

I wish to express my profound gratitude to my family and friends for their unwavering support, encouragement, and understanding throughout this research endeavor. Their belief in my abilities has been a constant source of motivation and inspiration.

Acknowledgement in Research Paper Example

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the individuals and institutions whose unwavering support has been indispensable in the completion of this research paper. Their guidance, encouragement, and expertise have greatly contributed to the success of our study.

Firstly, we express our sincere appreciation to Dr. Juanita Cruz, Professor of Economics at the University of the Philippines, for her invaluable mentorship and insightful feedback throughout the research process. Her expertise in the field has been instrumental in shaping the direction of our study.

We are also indebted to Dr. Manuel Reyes, Director of the Philippine Economic Development Institute, for his generous assistance and provision of research resources. His support has been pivotal in enhancing the quality and depth of our analysis.

Special thanks are extended to our research collaborators, including Dr. Sofia Garcia from the Department of Political Science at Ateneo de Manila University, and Dr. Miguel Hernandez from the Department of Sociology at Mapua University. Their collaboration and expertise have enriched our research with diverse perspectives and profound insights.

We would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance provided by the staff and researchers at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, who generously shared their knowledge and resources throughout the duration of our study.

Furthermore, we extend our gratitude to the participants of our study, whose cooperation and willingness to share their experiences have been instrumental in shaping our findings.

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Get All Types Of Acknowledgement Samples.

How To Write Acknowledgement For Research Paper

Post by Ruben Patel Leave a Comment

If you are thinking about How To Write Acknowledgment For Research Paper then you have come to the right place.

An acknowledgement section in a research paper is a place where you can express your gratitude to the people who have helped you with your research. This could include anyone who has provided support , guidance , or assistance during the research process.

For example, you might thank your advisors or professors for their guidance, your colleagues for their collaboration, librarians, lab assistants or a funding agency for their financial support and anyone else who has contributed to your research.

It is common to include an acknowledgement section in the beginning of a research paper, usually after the abstract and before the main body of the paper. The acknowledgement should be brief and to the point, and it is generally written in a formal, professional tone. You should avoid using casual language or personal anecdotes in this section.

The purpose of an acknowledgement is to express your gratitude to the people who have helped you with your research. It is a way to show that you appreciate the support and contributions of others, and it is an opportunity to thank them for their assistance. By including an acknowledgement in your research paper, you demonstrate that you are grateful for the help and support you have received, and you recognize the role that others have played in your research.

Here are some tips for writing an acknowledgement for a research paper:

• Start by thanking the people who have directly supported your research, such as your advisors and colleagues.
• Mention any funding agencies or organizations that provided financial support for your research.
• If you received assistance from librarians or other research staff, be sure to thank them as well.
• If you received help from any other individuals, such as lab assistants or research participants, be sure to include them in your acknowledgement.
• Keep your acknowledgement brief and to the point. You don’t need to go into great detail about the contributions of each person you are thanking.
• Use a formal, professional tone in your acknowledgement. This is not the place for casual language or personal anecdotes.

Here are a few acknowledgement samples for your research paper –

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement For Research Paper Sample

We are deeply grateful to all those who contributed to the success of this research project.

First and foremost, we would like to thank our primary supervisor, [Name], for their guidance, support, and encouragement throughout the entire process. Their mentorship and expertise were invaluable in helping us to shape the direction of our research and to bring our ideas to fruition.

We would also like to express our gratitude to the members of our research team, [Names], who provided valuable input, insights, and assistance at every stage of the project. Their contributions were critical to the success of this research, and we are deeply grateful for their hard work and dedication.

We would also like to thank the organizations and individuals who provided financial support for this research, including [Name] and [Name]. Without their generous contributions, this project would not have been possible.

Finally, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of the participants in our study, who generously shared their time, experiences, and insights with us. Their willingness to engage with our research was essential to the success of this project, and we are deeply grateful for their participation.

Overall, this research project would not have been possible without the support and contributions of so many people. We are deeply grateful to all of those who helped to make this project a reality, and we hope that our findings will make a meaningful contribution to the field.

Read Also: Get 15+ Acknowledgement Samples

Sample Acknowledgement For Research Paper

The completion of this research project would not have been possible without the contributions and support of many individuals and organizations. We are deeply grateful to all those who played a role in the success of this project.

We would like to thank [Name] for their invaluable input and support throughout the research process. Their insights and expertise were instrumental in shaping the direction of this project.

In addition, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of the participants in our study, who generously shared their time, experiences, and insights with us. Their willingness to engage with our research was essential to the success of this project, and we are deeply grateful for their participation.

Small Acknowledgement Sample For Research Paper

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our advisors, Dr. Spirt Kular and Dr. Sonney Deom, for their invaluable guidance and support throughout the research process. We also wish to thank the XYZ Foundation for their financial support, as well as the librarians at the ABC Library for their assistance in finding the necessary research materials. Finally, we are grateful to all of the research participants who generously gave their time and effort to this project.

You can take the help online paraphrasing tool when crafting an acknowledgment for a research paper. They help you manipulate the formal tone of your text according to your needs and make sure your text stays sincere and relevant.

Using the paraphrase tool , you can express specific appreciation for individual contributions that fit the unique context of the paper. Ultimately, you write an acknowledgment that is as personalized and meaningful as possible.

Note: It’s important to note that the specific language and tone of your acknowledgement will depend on the context and the nature of the contributions made by the individuals or organizations you are thanking. It’s a good idea to be specific and sincere in your appreciation, and to tailor your acknowledgement to the specific contributions that were made.

Conclusion On How To Write Acknowledgement For Research Paper

In conclusion, writing an acknowledgement for a research paper is a crucial step in recognizing the contributions of others to your work. It is a way to show gratitude to those who have provided assistance, support, and guidance throughout the research process. When writing an acknowledgement, it is important to be sincere and specific in thanking those who have helped you. Be sure to mention individuals by name, and specify their roles and contributions.

Additionally, make sure to follow any specific guidelines or requirements for formatting and presenting the acknowledgement in your research paper. By following these tips, you can effectively convey your appreciation and recognition of the help you received while completing your research.

Read Also: Master Thesis Acknowledgement Sample

FAQs On How To Write Acknowledgement For Research Paper

1) What is a good sentence for acknowledgement? Ans: “I appreciate your efforts in completing this project on time.” “I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication you have shown during this challenging year.” “I am grateful for your support and understanding during this difficult time.” It’s important to note that the specific wording and tone of an acknowledgement will depend on the context and the relationship between the speaker and the person being acknowledged.

2) Is conclusion and acknowledgement same? Ans: The conclusion is the final part of a written work that summarizes the main points and arguments. Acknowledgement is the act of recognizing or thanking someone or something for their contribution. These two things are often used in different contexts and for different purposes.

3) Who should I include in my acknowledgement for a research paper? Ans: It is appropriate to include anyone who has contributed significantly to your research, such as a supervisor, mentor, or colleague. You may also want to thank any individuals or organizations that provided financial or logistical support.

4) How should I structure my acknowledgement for a research paper? Ans: The structure of your acknowledgement will depend on the specific guidelines of the journal or publication you are submitting to. In general, it is common to include a brief paragraph at the beginning of the paper expressing your gratitude to those who have helped with the research. You can then list the names of the individuals or organizations you are thanking, along with a brief description of their contributions.

5) Is it necessary to include an acknowledgement in my research paper? Ans: It is not always required to include an acknowledgement in a research paper, but it is a common practice and can be a good way to show appreciation for the help and support you received during the research process.

6) Can I include personal thanks in my acknowledgement for a research paper? Ans: It is generally acceptable to include personal thanks in your acknowledgement, as long as it is done in a professional and respectful manner. You may want to thank family members or friends who provided emotional support during the research process, but be mindful of maintaining a professional tone and not going into too much detail about personal matters.

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More than 100 reference examples and their corresponding in-text citations are presented in the seventh edition Publication Manual . Examples of the most common works that writers cite are provided on this page; additional examples are available in the Publication Manual .

To find the reference example you need, first select a category (e.g., periodicals) and then choose the appropriate type of work (e.g., journal article ) and follow the relevant example.

When selecting a category, use the webpages and websites category only when a work does not fit better within another category. For example, a report from a government website would use the reports category, whereas a page on a government website that is not a report or other work would use the webpages and websites category.

Also note that print and electronic references are largely the same. For example, to cite both print books and ebooks, use the books and reference works category and then choose the appropriate type of work (i.e., book ) and follow the relevant example (e.g., whole authored book ).

Examples on these pages illustrate the details of reference formats. We make every attempt to show examples that are in keeping with APA Style’s guiding principles of inclusivity and bias-free language. These examples are presented out of context only to demonstrate formatting issues (e.g., which elements to italicize, where punctuation is needed, placement of parentheses). References, including these examples, are not inherently endorsements for the ideas or content of the works themselves. An author may cite a work to support a statement or an idea, to critique that work, or for many other reasons. For more examples, see our sample papers .

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CRediT author statement

CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) was introduced with the intention of recognizing individual author contributions, reducing authorship disputes and facilitating collaboration. The idea came about following a 2012 collaborative workshop led by Harvard University and the Wellcome Trust, with input from researchers, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and publishers, including Elsevier, represented by Cell Press.

CRediT offers authors the opportunity to share an accurate and detailed description of their diverse contributions to the published work.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that the descriptions are accurate and agreed by all authors

The role(s) of all authors should be listed, using the relevant above categories

Authors may have contributed in multiple roles

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CRediT statements should be provided during the submission process and will appear above the acknowledgment section of the published paper as shown further below.

*Reproduced from Brand et al. (2015), Learned Publishing 28(2), with permission of the authors.

Sample CRediT author statement

Zhang San:  Conceptualization, Methodology, Software  Priya Singh. : Data curation, Writing- Original draft preparation.  Wang Wu : Visualization, Investigation.  Jan Jansen :  Supervision. : Ajay Kumar : Software, Validation.:  Sun Qi:  Writing- Reviewing and Editing,

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Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors

Page Contents

• Why Authorship Matters
• Who Is an Author?
• Non-Author Contributors
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology

1. Why Authorship Matters

Authorship confers credit and has important academic, social, and financial implications. Authorship also implies responsibility and accountability for published work. The following recommendations are intended to ensure that contributors who have made substantive intellectual contributions to a paper are given credit as authors, but also that contributors credited as authors understand their role in taking responsibility and being accountable for what is published.

Editors should be aware of the practice of excluding local researchers from low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) from authorship when data are from LMICs. Inclusion of local authors adds to fairness, context, and implications of the research. Lack of inclusion of local investigators as authors should prompt questioning and may lead to rejection.

Because authorship does not communicate what contributions qualified an individual to be an author, some journals now request and publish information about the contributions of each person named as having participated in a submitted study, at least for original research. Editors are strongly encouraged to develop and implement a contributorship policy. Such policies remove much of the ambiguity surrounding contributions, but leave unresolved the question of the quantity and quality of contribution that qualify an individual for authorship. The ICMJE has thus developed criteria for authorship that can be used by all journals, including those that distinguish authors from other contributors.

2. Who Is an Author?

The ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
• Drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; AND
• Final approval of the version to be published; AND
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

In addition to being accountable for the parts of the work done, an author should be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for specific other parts of the work. In addition, authors should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of their co-authors.

All those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged—see Section II.A.3 below. These authorship criteria are intended to reserve the status of authorship for those who deserve credit and can take responsibility for the work. The criteria are not intended for use as a means to disqualify colleagues from authorship who otherwise meet authorship criteria by denying them the opportunity to meet criterion #s 2 or 3. Therefore, all individuals who meet the first criterion should have the opportunity to participate in the review, drafting, and final approval of the manuscript.

The individuals who conduct the work are responsible for identifying who meets these criteria and ideally should do so when planning the work, making modifications as appropriate as the work progresses. We encourage collaboration and co-authorship with colleagues in the locations where the research is conducted. It is the collective responsibility of the authors, not the journal to which the work is submitted, to determine that all people named as authors meet all four criteria; it is not the role of journal editors to determine who qualifies or does not qualify for authorship or to arbitrate authorship conflicts. If agreement cannot be reached about who qualifies for authorship, the institution(s) where the work was performed, not the journal editor, should be asked to investigate. The criteria used to determine the order in which authors are listed on the byline may vary, and are to be decided collectively by the author group and not by editors. If authors request removal or addition of an author after manuscript submission or publication, journal editors should seek an explanation and signed statement of agreement for the requested change from all listed authors and from the author to be removed or added.

The corresponding author is the one individual who takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer-review, and publication process. The corresponding author typically ensures that all the journal’s administrative requirements, such as providing details of authorship, ethics committee approval, clinical trial registration documentation, and disclosures of relationships and activities are properly completed and reported, although these duties may be delegated to one or more co-authors. The corresponding author should be available throughout the submission and peer-review process to respond to editorial queries in a timely way, and should be available after publication to respond to critiques of the work and cooperate with any requests from the journal for data or additional information should questions about the paper arise after publication. Although the corresponding author has primary responsibility for correspondence with the journal, the ICMJE recommends that editors send copies of all correspondence to all listed authors.

When a large multi-author group has conducted the work, the group ideally should decide who will be an author before the work is started and confirm who is an author before submitting the manuscript for publication. All members of the group named as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, including approval of the final manuscript, and they should be able to take public responsibility for the work and should have full confidence in the accuracy and integrity of the work of other group authors. They will also be expected as individuals to complete disclosure forms.

Some large multi-author groups designate authorship by a group name, with or without the names of individuals. When submitting a manuscript authored by a group, the corresponding author should specify the group name if one exists, and clearly identify the group members who can take credit and responsibility for the work as authors. The byline of the article identifies who is directly responsible for the manuscript, and MEDLINE lists as authors whichever names appear on the byline. If the byline includes a group name, MEDLINE will list the names of individual group members who are authors or who are collaborators, sometimes called non-author contributors, if there is a note associated with the byline clearly stating that the individual names are elsewhere in the paper and whether those names are authors or collaborators.

3. Non-Author Contributors

Contributors who meet fewer than all 4 of the above criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors, but they should be acknowledged. Examples of activities that alone (without other contributions) do not qualify a contributor for authorship are acquisition of funding; general supervision of a research group or general administrative support; and writing assistance, technical editing, language editing, and proofreading. Those whose contributions do not justify authorship may be acknowledged individually or together as a group under a single heading (e.g. "Clinical Investigators" or "Participating Investigators"), and their contributions should be specified (e.g., "served as scientific advisors," "critically reviewed the study proposal," "collected data," "provided and cared for study patients," "participated in writing or technical editing of the manuscript").

Because acknowledgment may imply endorsement by acknowledged individuals of a study’s data and conclusions, editors are advised to require that the corresponding author obtain written permission to be acknowledged from all acknowledged individuals.

Use of AI for writing assistance should be reported in the acknowledgment section.

4. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology

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• Published: 05 June 2024

An emission-state-switching radio transient with a 54-minute period

• M. Caleb   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4079-4648 1 , 2   na1 ,
• E. Lenc   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9994-1593 3   na1 ,
• D. L. Kaplan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6295-2881 4 ,
• T. Murphy   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2686-438X 1 , 2 ,
• Y. P. Men   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4137-4247 5 ,
• R. M. Shannon   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7285-6348 6 ,
• L. Ferrario   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0485-0518 7 ,
• K. M. Rajwade   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8043-6909 8 , 9 ,
• T. E. Clarke   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6812-7938 10 ,
• S. Giacintucci 10 ,
• N. Hurley-Walker 11 ,
• S. D. Hyman 12 ,
• M. E. Lower   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9208-0009 3 ,
• Sam McSweeney 11 ,
• V. Ravi 13 , 14 ,
• E. D. Barr 5 ,
• S. Buchner   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1691-0215 15 ,
• C. M. L. Flynn 6 ,
• J. W. T. Hessels   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2317-1446 8 ,
• M. Kramer 6 ,
• J. Pritchard 1 &
• B. W. Stappers 16  

Nature Astronomy ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Time-domain astronomy
• Transient astrophysical phenomena

Long-period radio transients are an emerging class of extreme astrophysical events of which only three are known. These objects emit highly polarized, coherent pulses of typically a few tens of seconds duration, and minutes to approximately hour-long periods. Although magnetic white dwarfs and magnetars, either isolated or in binary systems, have been invoked to explain these objects, a consensus has not emerged. Here we report on the discovery of ASKAP J193505.1+214841.0 (henceforth ASKAP J1935+2148) with a period of 53.8 minutes showing 3 distinct emission states—a bright pulse state with highly linearly polarized pulses with widths of 10–50 seconds; a weak pulse state that is about 26 times fainter than the bright state with highly circularly polarized pulses of widths of approximately 370 milliseconds; and a quiescent or quenched state with no pulses. The first two states have been observed to progressively evolve over the course of 8 months with the quenched state interspersed between them suggesting physical changes in the region producing the emission. A constraint on the radius of the source for the observed period rules out an isolated magnetic white-dwarf origin. Unlike other long-period sources, ASKAP 1935+2148 shows marked variations in emission modes reminiscent of neutron stars. However, its radio properties challenge our current understanding of neutron-star emission and evolution.

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ASKAP J1935+2148 was serendipitously discovered during a target of opportunity observation of the gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. Bright pulses of radio emission from ASKAP J1935+2148 were seen on 15 October 2022 using a fast-imaging technique on images with 10 s integration times ( Methods ). ASKAP J1935+2148 is located at right ascension (J2000) 19 h 35 min 05.126 s ± 1.5″ and declination (J2000) +21° 48′ 41.047″′ ± 1.5″, which is coincidentally 5.6′ from the magnetar SGR 1935+2154 and sits on the edge of the supernova remnant in which SGR 1935+2154 is centred. The observation lasted ~6 h, revealing 4 bright pulses lasting 10–50 s in the images, with the brightest peak pulse flux density measuring 119 mJy. Inspection of the light curves of the pulses revealed a tentative period of ~54 min.

In addition to a weak detection in an archival ASKAP observation, the source was consistently detected in four follow-up observations. A summary of all observations with ASKAP is presented in Extended Data Table 1 . Overall, the pulses are visible across the whole bandpass-corrected observing band of 288 MHz, leading to a spectral index estimation of α  ≈ + 0.4 ± 0.3 at 887.5 MHz. However, a dispersion measure (DM) constraint/estimate was not possible due to the coarse time resolution of 10 s. We quantify the pulses to be >90% linearly polarized—implying strongly ordered magnetic fields, with a rotation measure (RM) of +159.3 ± 0.3 rad m −2 calculated using the RM synthesis method 1 . In comparison, the RM and DM of SGR 1935+2154 are approximately +107 rad m −2 and approximately 330 pc cm −3 , respectively 2 . The RM of ASKAP J1935+2148 is consistent with the contribution from the smoothed Galactic foreground 3 and with those of nearby pulsars ( https://www.atnf.csiro.au/research/pulsar/psrcat/ ), precluding the presence of a substantial RM imparted at the source.

Following the discovery, we conducted simultaneous beamformed and imaging follow-up observations at 1,284 MHz with the MeerKAT radio interferometer ( Methods ). Two pulses were detected in both the beamformed and imaging data in two independent observations (Extended Data Table 1 ). The initial estimate of period allowed us to predict the times of arrival (ToAs) of future pulses at the same rotational phase of ASKAP J1935+2148, and the MeerKAT pulses are observed to arrive within 319 ms of the predicted times (that is, within 10 −4 of a period). The ToAs of all the ASKAP and MeerKAT detections were used to determine a phase-connected timing solution with a period P of 3,225.313 ± 0.002 s ( Methods and Fig. 1 ), and an upper limit on the period derivative, \(\dot{P}\) of ≲ (1.2 ± 1.5) × 10 −10  s s −1 with a 1 σ error. The location of ASKAP J1935+2148 in the \(P-\dot{P}\) parameter space, which is frequently used to classify different sorts of pulsars, is consistent with other known long-period sources (Extended Data Fig. 1 ). ASKAP J1935+2148 is seen to reside in the pulsar death valley where detectable radio signals are not expected, challenging currently accepted theories of radio emission via spin-down (Extended Data Fig. 1 ). The radio properties of ASKAP J1935+2148 are presented in Table 1 .

The y axis is the pulse number. The peak flux densities of these detections are reported in Extended Data Table 1 . The different colours represent the dates of the observations. Pulse detections within an observation represent consecutive rotations of the source. Although different in terms of radio properties, the MeerKAT detections appear to arrive in phase with the ASKAP detections.

A first single pulse was detected by the MeerTRAP real-time detection system ( Methods ) on 3 February 2023 with a DM of 145.8 ± 3.5 pc cm −3 and a width of ~370 ms (Extended Data Table 1 ), which is ~135 times narrower than the brightest ASKAP pulse. Contrary to the ASKAP duty cycle of 1.5%, the narrow width of the MeerKAT pulse results in a duty cycle of only 0.01%. The average DM inferred distance based on the NE2001 4 and YMW16 5 Galactic electron density models places ASKAP J1935+2148 at a distance of 4.85 kpc (Table 1 ). The detection is accompanied by weak pre- and post-cursor pulses, as seen in Fig. 2 . The data recorded to disk with the PTUSE backend ( Methods ) did not reveal a broader underlying emission envelope similar to the wide pulse widths seen in the ASKAP detections. The corresponding MeerKAT 2-s-resolution image (the shortest possible timescale) revealed a single 9 mJy detection, which is ~26 times fainter than the brightest ASKAP pulse. The pulse was localized to right ascension (J2000) 19 h 35 min 05.175 s ± 0.3″ and declination (J2000) +21° 48′ 41.504″ ± 0.6″, which is consistent with the ASKAP coordinates. Throughout the paper, the flux densities quoted for the MeerKAT data are from the images as the beamformed data are only polarization and not flux calibrated. Unlike the ASKAP pulses, our MeerKAT detection revealed a substantial circular polarization fraction exceeding 70%, coupled with a linear polarization fraction of ~40%. We did not find evidence for Faraday conversion ( Methods ). In addition to being spatially coincident, the measured RM of +159.8 ± 0.3 rad m −2 agrees with that measured for the ASKAP detections, giving us added confidence that despite the drastically different pulse widths, the ASKAP and MeerKAT detections were produced by the same object.

Left: a bright detection on 3 February 2023. Right: a weaker detection on 8 May 2023. The data have a time resolution of 2.4 ms and are de-dispersed to a DM of 145.8 pc cm −3 and corrected for an RM of +159.3 rad m −2 . Top: the polarization position angle (PA; for values of linear polarization greater than three times the off-pulse noise), which is observed to be flat across the main pulse profile in the left panel. The insufficient signal-to-noise ratio during the detection on 8 May 2023 prevented robust measurements of polarization position angles. Middle: the Stokes parameter pulse profiles for ASKAP J1935+2148 at 1,284 MHz where black represents the total intensity, magenta represents linear polarization and blue represents circular polarization. The flux density is in arbitrary units as the data are not flux calibrated. The arrows indicate the positions of the pre- and post-cursor bursts for the detection on 3 February 2023 (left). Bottom: the dynamic spectra where the backwards sweeping striations across the observing band in the left panel correspond to ~50 Hz radio-frequency interference.

The second MeerKAT detection was made on 8 May 2023 with a flux density of 2.9 mJy averaged over 2 s (Extended Data Table 1 ). This burst was also ~370 ms wide and highly circularly polarized with no broader emission envelope, but the lack of sufficient signal to noise precluded a reliable RM estimation. Both MeerKAT pulses are visible across the whole 856 MHz band with a spectral index estimate of α  ≈ −1.2 ± 0.1 at 1,284 MHz. Such variations in spectral indices have been observed in both pulsars and radio magnetars showing different emission states 6 , 7 . Combining all the ASKAP and MeerKAT observations (Extended Data Table 1 ), we see that the source is not detectable in every single observation indicating intermittency, potential nulling where the pulsed emission temporarily ceases or becomes undetectable, or drastic variations in flux density. Using epochs 1 to 17 in Extended Data Table 1 , we estimate the source to be in a quenched or quiescent state ~40–50% of the time, at MeerKAT and ASKAP.

Observationally, ASKAP J1935+2148 appears to show three emission states:

The strong pulse mode consisting of 15 bright, tens-of-seconds-wide and highly linearly polarized pulses as seen with ASKAP

The weak pulse mode characterized by two faint, hundreds-of-milliseconds-wide and highly circularly polarized pulses as seen with MeerKAT

The completely nulling or quiescent mode as seen with both telescopes

We consider two possible scenarios for the observed differences in properties of the ASKAP and MeerKAT bursts.

In the first scenario, the ASKAP pulses could span only a small fraction (that is a few hundreds of milliseconds) of the shortest possible time resolution of 10 s. This scenario would imply that the source produces only subsecond-duration pulses. In Fig. 1 , we see the flux densities of detections from 10 s ASKAP images to gradually rise and fall, resulting in an almost Gaussian-like pulse profile. This distribution of the flux densities makes it unlikely for the burst to be composed of several consecutive millisecond-duration pulses. However, it remains possible for subsecond-timescale structure to be superimposed on the broader emission envelope.

In the second scenario, it is likely that there are different emission modes at play. The source was undetectable with ASKAP in all follow-up observations post 5 November 2022, until the first MeerKAT observation on 3 February 2023 with its five times better sensitivity. The MeerKAT pulses that would have been undetectable at ASKAP are analogous to the ‘quiet’ pulse mode in PSR B0823+26, and the ‘dwarf pulse’ mode in PSR B2111+46 8 . The pulses in these modes are generally undetectable in lower-sensitivity and/or low time-resolution observations such as with ASKAP. These weak pulses potentially exist between the nulling or quenched states of ASKAP J1935+2148. The location of the source at the edge of the supernova remnant in Extended Data Fig. 2 makes it is difficult to determine exactly what background emission to subtract. Therefore, we are unable to confirm the presence of persistent continuum radio emission that might be indicative of a wind nebula in either the MeerKAT or ASKAP data ( Methods ).

Collectively, the pulse widths, spectra and polarization properties of the ASKAP and MeerKAT detections suggest different physical coherent processes even though they occur at roughly the same rotational phase. Coherent radio emission from rotating neutron stars is efficiently generated by the creation of electron–positron pairs in the magnetosphere. The rotational spin-down creates an electric potential at the polar cap, causing pair production. Such charged plasma can emit radio waves that can be attributed to curvature radiation and inverse Compton scattering, and diverse magnetic-field configurations in emission models, including dipolar, multipolar and twisted fields along with vacuum gaps and space-charge-limited flows 9 , 10 . Magnetically powered neutron stars, however, generate coherent radio emission through decaying magnetic fields 11 . Extended Data Fig. 3 shows the manifestation of the physics underlying coherent and incoherent emitters, and indicates a coherent emission mechanism (brightness temperatures between 10 14  K and 10 16  K) being responsible for both the ASKAP and MeerKAT detections of ASKAP J1935+2148.

When comparing with other known long-period sources, ASKAP J1935+2148 appears to be similar to GLEAM-X J162759.5−523504.3 12 and GPM J1839−10 13 albeit with a period that is four times longer but with a duty cycle not too dissimilar. GLEAM-X J162759.5−523504.3 was active for only three months, while GPM J1839−10 has remained active for over three decades 12 , 13 . Despite searches across radio data from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), Very Large Array (VLA) and VLA Low-band Ionosphere and Transient Experiment (VLITE) spanning 2013 to 2023, no pulses from ASKAP J1935+2148 were detected. We note that ASKAP J1935+2148 shares similarities with the Galactic Centre radio transient (GCRT), or ‘Burper’, GCRT J1745−3009. At the time of its discovery, GCRT J1745−3009 showed 10-min-wide pulses with a periodicity of 77 min (ref. 14 ), but subsequent observations revealed narrower and weaker pulses spanning 2 min (ref. 15 ). Varying circular polarization was also found in one of the pulses 16 . The similarities in the periods and the different emission states imply that ASKAP J1935+2148 could be a bridge between GCRT J1745−3009, GLEAM-X J162759.5−523504.3 and GPM J1839−10.

Owing to the proximity of SGR 1935+2154, there are numerous archival high-sensitivity X-ray observations at the position of ASKAP J1935+2148 ( Methods and Extended Data Table 2 ). We focused on observations with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory 17 . Using a combination of the more sensitive Chandra observations, we did not detect any X-ray source at the location of ASKAP J1935+2148. For an average DM inferred distance of 4.85 kpc (Table 1 ), this corresponds to a luminosity limit of about \(4\times 1{0}^{30}{d}_{4.85}^{2}\,{{{\rm{erg}}}}\,{{{{\rm{s}}}}}^{-1}\) ( Methods ) for a blackbody spectral model and a power-law spectral model for non-thermal emission from a neutron star. This is below the X-ray luminosities of most but not all rotation-powered pulsars and magnetars 18 , 19 and is comparable to the X-ray luminosities of other long-period radio transients (≤10 32−33  erg s −1 ) 12 , 13 . We also searched for flaring activity in ASKAP J1935+2148 using Swift, with 291 individual visits using the X-ray Telescope 20 lasting 5–2,600 s from December 2010 to December 2022 for a total exposure time of 302.4 ks (exposure corrected). We see no sources in the summed dataset at the position of ASKAP J1935+2148 ( Methods ). The repeated visits with Swift allow us to rule out any flaring behaviour during this period.

Archival 300 s exposures in the J, H and K s bands (1.2 μm, 1.6 μm and 2.1 μm) with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) using the near-infrared HAWK-I 21 imager showed a source within the conservative 1.5″ ASKAP error radius of ASKAP J1935+2148 (Fig. 3 ). This source with J  = 18.4 ± 0.1 mag, H  = 17.3 ± 0.1 mag and K s  = 17.1 ± 0.1 mag (Vega) is catalogued as PSO J293.7711+21.8119 in Data Release 2 of the Pan-STARRS1 (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System; PS1) 3π survey 22 . We compute the chance of finding a source randomly (drawn from the background) in the K s image, which has the highest source density, with magnitude brighter than or equal to this value to be 5% (that is ~2 σ association) given the crowded nature of the field. However, to confidently rule out the association, we obtained a spectrum of PSO J293.7711+21.8119 in the 3,200–10,000 Å wavelength range with the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer at the Keck telescope in Hawaii (Extended Data Fig. 4 ). The calibrated spectrum is a red continuum devoid of discernible emission or absorption lines. The combination of the VLT magnitudes and the spectral characteristics suggests that it is an L/T-dwarf star. Gaia Data Release 1 parallaxes for known L and T dwarfs give J-band absolute magnitudes M J in the range 10 <  M J  < 16 (ref. 23 ), which implies a distance of less than 0.5 kpc for an apparent magnitude of J  = 18.4. Because at 4.85 kpc such a star would be undetectable, we conclude that PSO J293.7711+21.8119 is a foreground star that is unlikely to be associated with ASKAP J1935+2148.

The image cut-out is 20″ × 30″. The uncertainty in the position of ASKAP J1935+2148 is shown by a green circle of radius 1.5″.

The observed period and emission of ASKAP J1935+2148 could be explained by a rotating magnetic white dwarf (MWD) emitting coherent radio emission like a neutron-star pulsar 24 . MWDs can be either isolated or in interacting binaries. There are ~600 known isolated MWDs with surface dipole magnetic fields up to 10 9  G and ~200 in interacting binaries with magnetic fields up to a few 10 8  G (ref. 25 ). Although radio emission from isolated MWDs has never been detected, despite searches for possible counterparts in large-area radio surveys (for example, refs. 26 , 27 ), we now entertain this possibility and derive the parameters that would be required to explain the radio emission of ASKAP J1935+2148. If ASKAP J1935+2148 is an isolated rotation-powered MWD, the measured P and upper limit on \(\dot{P}\) would yield a surface magnetic-field strength and spin-down luminosity of a few 10 10  G and a few 10 31  erg s −1 , respectively, for a dipolar magnetic-field configuration, a magnetic inclination angle of 90° and a moment of inertia of 10 50  g cm 2 . Even though the currently known isolated MWDs have magnetic fields below 10 9  G, it is theoretically possible for MWDs to have surface fields of up to a few 10 13  G (refs. 28 , 29 ). In this case, ASKAP J1935+2148 would be the first MWD discovered to possess such a high magnetic field.

The radius of the source can be related to rotational period and magnetic-field strength to estimate the minimum radius of the source 30 ( Methods and Extended Data Fig. 5 ). Even under the most conservative assumptions, we can rule out an isolated MWD origin if we presume that the magnetic field cannot exceed 10 9  G, which is the maximum measured in an MWD. Similar considerations can also be applied to GLEAM-X J162759.5−523504.3 and GPM J1839−10, and we conclude that it is highly unlikely that the radio emission from these sources can be interpreted in terms of an isolated rotation-powered MWD. However, coherent and highly polarized radio emission has been detected in cataclysmic variables 26 , 31 , which are close binary systems containing a white dwarf primary accreting matter from a low-mass M-dwarf companion. In all detection cases, the radio emission appears to arise from the lower corona of the magnetically active M-dwarf and is attributed to the electron cyclotron maser instability. The problem here is that the radio luminosities of cataclysmic variables, in the range 10 21 –10 25  erg s −1 (ref. 26 ), would be too low to explain the emission of ASKAP J1935+2148. Hence, it is also highly unlikely that a cataclysmic variable could be responsible for the radio emission of ASKAP J1935+2148.

Assuming a neutron-star origin, the period and upper limit on the period derivative correspond to a surface magnetic-field strength and spin-down luminosity of a few 10 16  G and a few 10 26  erg s −1 , respectively, for a dipolar magnetic-field configuration, a magnetic inclination angle of 90° and a moment of inertia of 10 45  g cm 2 . It is unclear why a neutron-star magnetar would still possess such a large magnetic field at this stage of its evolution, but explanations have been provided either in terms of the magnetic field’s structure (for example, refs. 32 , 33 ) or as due to a fall-back accretion disk (for example, ref. 34 ). Similar to GLEAM-X J162759.5−523504.3 12 and GPM J1839−10 13 , the observed radio luminosity of ASKAP J1935+2148 is much larger than the inferred spin-down luminosity, suggesting that alternative emission mechanisms must be involved to explain the radio emission of these long-period radio transients.

Achieving the observed duty cycle of approximately ~1% in ASKAP J1935+2148 necessitates a high degree of beaming, implying the generation and acceleration of relativistic particles—a phenomenon that is generally more easily accommodated in neutron stars than in white dwarfs. Remarkably, the isolated intermittent pulsar PSR J1107−5907, with P  ≈ 253 ms, shows the same three distinct emission states as ASKAP J1935+2148 35 . The emission in both PSR J1107−5907 and ASKAP J1935+2148 alternates between distinct modes, each characterized by unique pulse profiles, polarization properties and, at times, varying intensities. The intricate interplay of magnetic fields, plasma flows and the magnetospheric environment leads to the emergence of these different modes 36 . Instabilities within the pulsar magnetosphere may trigger transitions between these modes, contributing to the observed switching phenomenon. In addition, changes in the geometry of the magnetic-field configuration and the location of emission sites within the magnetosphere could influence the emitted radiation characteristics. Notably, PSR J1107−5907 is close to the pulsar death line(s) 37 , 38 (Extended Data Fig. 1 ), beyond which radio emission is expected to cease. All these similarities seem to suggest that a neutron-star-like emission mechanism is at play for ASKAP J1935+2148.

In summary, we report the discovery of the long-period source ASKAP J1935+2148, which is unique compared with other known long-period sources, by manifesting three distinctive emission states reminiscent of mode-switching pulsars. The strong pulse mode shows bright and linearly polarized pulses lasting tens of seconds, the weak pulse mode features faint and circularly polarized pulses lasting hundreds of milliseconds, and the completely nulling or quiescent mode shows an absence of pulses. These diverse emission states offer valuable insights into the magnetospheric processes and emission mechanisms at play within this object, with similarities to the radio pulsars PSR J1107−5907, PSR B0823+26 and PSR B2111+46. Given the brief 3-month activity of GLEAM-X J162759.5−523504.3, ongoing monitoring may unveil emission modes similar to the those observed in ASKAP J1935+2148. We see that radio emission via pair production within dipolar magnetospheres presents considerable challenges 24 . However, a large magnetic field can power the observed radio emission via the dissipation of energy due to magnetic re-connection events, higher-order magnetic fields and untwisting of field lines due to plastic motion of the crust 39 , 40 . It would be prudent to study further whether such processes can persist for long timescales consistent with the long-term emission seen in a few long-period sources. Population-synthesis simulations incorporating various parameters such as masses, radii, beaming fractions and magnetic field show that only a limited number of long-period radio emitters of neutron-star origins are expected to exist in the Galaxy 24 . Conversely, in the white-dwarf scenario, a sizable population of long-period emitters can be accounted for. Nonetheless, explaining the production of coherent radio emission remains a formidable task in either scenario 24 , 41 . While MWDs have been considered to be responsible for the radio emission observed in sources such as GLEAM-X J162759.5−523504.3 and GPM J1839−10, we have ruled out this possibility for ASKAP J1935+2148. Thus, it is much more likely for ASKAP J1935+2148 to be an ultralong period magnetar or neutron star either isolated or in a binary system. Continued monitoring of this source should allow us to determine whether additional periods are present and the possible existence of a companion star.

The ASKAP array comprises 36 antennas, each equipped with a prime-focus phased array feed (PAF). Each PAF has 188 linearly polarized receiving elements sensitive to frequencies between 0.7 GHz and 1.8 GHz. The signal from each element is channelized to 1 MHz frequency resolution over a usable bandwidth of 288 MHz. The standard ASKAP hardware correlator produces visibilities on a 10 s timescale. During the detection of ASKAP J1935+2148, ASKAP was operated in the square_6 × 6 configuration with 1.05° pitch and 887.5 MHz central frequency. The pointing centre was chosen such that ASKAP’s large field of view (~30 deg 2 ) would also encompass the magnetar SGR 1935+2154 known to have produced a burst with fast radio burst like (FRB) energies in 2020 42 , 43 and several less energetic bursts since.

The source was found during testing of a fast pulse-detection pipeline. The pipeline subtracts visibilities from neighbouring 10 s integrations and then images the result. The process effectively subtracts out quiescent emission from the field and retains only sources that change dramatically over a single integration. As such sources are rare, most images are effectively dominated by thermal noise and so do not require computationally expensive deconvolution. Once the image is checked for peaks above the noise, it is discarded to minimize storage requirements. The process is repeated for all time integrations and all 36 ASKAP beams. The processing initially found no detections in the first epoch of the ASKAP observation but found a bright pulse in beams 21, 22 and 23 of the second ASKAP epoch.

While the pulse-detection pipeline is reasonably effective for finding bright pulses, it forgoes some sensitivity to weak pulses to minimize resource usage. Once we had discovered ASKAP J1935+2148, more traditional techniques were used to investigate the pulse. A deep model image was derived for the beam and subtracted from the visibility data. The data were then phase shifted to the location of the source and dynamic spectra extracted (averaging over all baselines >200.0 m). This allowed weaker pulses to be detected and also allowed the linear polarization properties to be analysed. This approach was also repeated for MeerKAT observations.

The shortest ASKAP imaging observation (SBID 44918 in Extended Data Table 1 ), took place at the same time the 64 m Parkes (Murriyang) radio telescope was pointed at the known radio-burst emitting magnetar SGR 1935+2154. This observation was taken using the Ultra Wideband Low receiver system, spanning a bandwidth of 704–4,032 MHz. The position of ASKAP J1935+2148 was well within the 30-arcmin-wide low-frequency part of the Ultra Wideband Low beam. Only one weak pulse (~9 σ or 10.7 mJy per beam) was detected from ASKAP J1935+2148 in the ASKAP data but no detection was made in the Parkes data above a signal-to-noise ratio of 8.

In the observations presented in this work, MeerKAT operated at the L band (0.86-1.71 GHz) in the c856M4k configuration where the correlations were integrated for 2 s before saving to disk. We used PKS J1939−6342 as the primary flux calibrator and bandpass calibrator, and PKS J2011−0644 as the phase calibrator. MeerKAT was also used to simultaneously perform beamformed observations in the incoherent and coherent modes using MeerTRAP. The MeerTRAP backend is the combination of two systems: the Filterbank and Beamforming User Supplied Equipment (FBFUSE), a multiple-beam beamformer 44 , 45 , and the Transient User Supplied Equipment (TUSE), a real-time transient detection instrument 46 . FBFUSE applies the geometric and phase delays (obtained by observing a bright calibrator) before combining the data streams from the dishes into 1 incoherent beam and up to 780 coherent beams recording in total intensity, only. The beams can be placed at any desired location within the primary beam of the array, but are by default tessellated into a circular tiling centred on the boresight position, and spaced so that the response patterns of neighbouring beams intersect at the 25% peak power point. The beams are then sent over the network to TUSE for processing.

The TUSE single-pulse search pipeline searches for total intensity pulses in real time at a sampling time of 306.24 μs, up to a maximum boxcar width of 140 ms in the dispersion measure range of 0–5118.4 pc cm −3 at the L band. Only extracted candidate files are saved to disk for further investigation. Further details on the MeerTRAP backend can be found in refs. 47 , 48 . The Accelerated Pulsar Search User Supply Equipment (APSUSE) backend instrument was used to record total intensity data with 4,096 frequency channels. In addition, full polarization data for the on-source beam were recorded to disk, but not searched in real time, using the Pulsar Timing User Supplied Equipment (PTUSE) backend of the MeerKAT pulsar timing project MeerTime described in ref. 49 . These data were recorded in the PTUSE search mode with a sampling time of 38.28 μs in the psrfits format.

To address the impact of baseline variation in the recorded data, we utilized the APSUSE off-source beam as a reference to eliminate the baseline of the on-source beam. Following this process, we conducted a search for single pulses using TransientX ( https://github.com/ypmen/TransientX ) 50 , within a DM range of 120–160 pc cm −3 and a maximum pulse width of 1 s. This search yielded the detection of the two pulses in the PTUSE data. Subsequently, we extracted the polarization profiles from the PTUSE data of these two pulses, having removed the baseline based on the off-source APSUSE beam.

Period estimation

We generated ToAs for each of the detections made with the ASKAP and MeerKAT observation in Extended Data Table 1 . Manipulation of the data used the tools available in the PSRCHIVE package 51 . The ToAs for the ASKAP detections are chosen to be the midpoints of the 10 s integrations they were detected in, with the error on the ToA equal to the duration of an non-detection in 10 s integrations immediately preceding, and succeeding the first and last detections of a pulse, respectively. The MeerKAT ToAs were obtained by using PSRCHIVE’s PAT on the beamformed data to estimate the time of the peak flux. Given the variability in the morphology of individual pulses, and presumable jitter in the emission measuring the pulse arrival times, we estimate the uncertainty on the arrival times to be the half-width at half-maximum of the widths of the pulses. The initial timing analysis for both telescopes used the best known period and DM at the time and the position determined from the imaging.

Timing was done using TEMPO2 52 with the JPL DE436 planetary ephemeris ( https://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/naif/JUNO/kernels/spk/de436s.bsp.lbl ). The ToAs were fitted using a model including the period P and period derivative \(\dot{P}\) . We do not need to fit for position as it is well determined from the imaging as described in previous sections. We also do not fit for DM as this is sufficiently well determined from optimizing the signal to noise of the individual MeerKAT pulses.

Archival radio searches

The VLITE 53 , 54 is a commensal instrument on the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array that records and correlates data across a 64 MHz bandwidth at a central frequency of 340 MHz. Since 20 July 2017, VLITE has been operating on up to 18 antennas during nearly all regular VLA operations, accumulating roughly 6,000 h of data per year. An automated calibration and imaging pipeline 53 processes all VLITE data, producing final calibrated visibility datasets and self-calibrated images. These images and associated META data are then passed through the VLITE Database Pipeline 55 to populate a Structured Query Language database containing catalogued sources.

Using the VLITE Database Pipeline, we searched for all VLITE datasets that contain the position of ASKAP J1935+2148 within 2.5° from the phase centre of the VLITE observations taken when the VLA was in its A and B configurations. We note that the half-power radius of the VLITE primary-beam response is ~1.25°; however, the system is sensitive to sources well beyond this radius. We identified 124 VLITE datasets observed between 9 November 2017 and 22 August 2023. From these, we selected all observations with a length of at least 15 min, for a total of 26 observations in A configuration (angular resolution ~5″) and 10 observations in B configuration (resolution ~20″). None of these 36 datasets are targeted observations of ASKAP J1935+2148, rather the source position ranges between a radius of 1.1° to 2.2° from the pointing centre of the VLITE observation.

To search for possible 340 MHz emission from ASKAP J1935+2148 in the VLITE data, we first subtracted all known continuum sources from the self-calibrated visibilities of each observation, we then phase shifted the data to the position of ASKAP J1935+2148 using chgcentre 56 , and finally we made a time series of dirty images of the target at 10 s and 4 s intervals using WSClean 56 . The primary-beam corrected noise in the 10 s snapshots ranges on average from 41 mJy per beam (when the position of ASKAP J1935+2148 is 1.1° away from the VLITE phase centre) to 130 mJy per beam (at 2.2°). In the 4 s snapshots, the average primary-beam corrected noise ranges between 62 mJy per beam (at 1.1° from the phase centre) and 181 mJy per beam (at 2.2°). No obvious pulses from ASKAP J1935+2148 were detected.

VLA and GMRT

The archives of the VLA and the GMRT were searched for data in which the position of ASKAP J1935+2148 lies within the observation field of view. VLA P-band (~325 MHz) observations of PSR 1937+21, 1.1° away, were made on 25 September 2013, 28/29 November 2013, 30 November/1 December 2013, 1/2 December 2013 and 7 July 2014 with the array in the B and A configurations (~20″ and ~5″ resolutions), respectively. The 25 September 2013 observation was on-source for 42 min except for short calibrator scans intermixed, while the other 2013 observations consisted of three 6 min scans separated by 1 h, and the 2014 observation consisted of ten 6 min scans spread over 4 h. Calibration and imaging were performed using the Astronomical Imaging Processing System (AIPS) 57 . Amplitude and phase calibrations were both performed using 3C48, as no separate phase calibrator was observed. Imaging was performed with the AIPS task, IMAGR. The field was self-calibrated on a wide-field image using 19 facets to cover the ~3° (full-width at half-maximum) field of view. Ten-second integration snapshot images were made after subtracting the deep image clean components from the UV data using the AIPS task, UVSUB. The root mean square (RMS) noise of the 10 s snapshot images at the location of ASKAP J1935+2148 was typically ~15 mJy per beam after applying a 1.5× correction for primary-beam attenuation.

Two L-band (~1.4 GHz) observations on 28–29 May 2020 (GMRT; 2.5 h; ~2″ resolution) and 27 June 2021 (VLA; 1 h; C configuration; ~10″ resolution) targeted SGR 1935+2154 located only 0.1° away from ASKAP J1935+2148. A similar analysis in AIPS was followed as with the P-band observations except that wide-field imaging was not necessary due to the much smaller ~0.5° (full-width at half-maximum) fields of view. The amplitude and phase calibrators were 3C48 and 1822-096 (GMRT) and 3C286 and J1925+2106 (VLA). The RMS noise of the 5.4 s (GMRT) and 5.0 s (VLA) snapshot images at the location of ASKAP J1935+2148 were both typically ~0.5 mJy per beam after applying a 1.1× correction for primary-beam attenuation. No obvious pulses from ASKAP J1935+2148 were detected.

X-ray searches

For Chandra, we identified 5 Chandra observations for a total of 157.7 ks of exposure as listed in Extended Data Table 2 . For all observations, ASKAP J1935+2148 was located on a front-illuminated charge-coupled device (CCD): ACIS-S2 for 21305/21306 and ACIS-S4 for the remainder.

The observations were analysed and combined using CIAO version 4.15.1, with CALDB 4.10.2 58 . We first examined all observations individually for background flares by looking visually at the summed light curves. No flares were identified. We reprocessed the data to level 2 using a consistent calibration database, and reprojected the data to a common tangent point. We then combined the reprojected observations to create an exposure-corrected image. No source was found within 2″ of ASKAP J1935+2148. We also looked at the individual reprojected event files. For each file we computed the number of events within a 2″ radius of ASKAP J1935+2148 along with the background rate determined from all of the counts on the appropriate CCD between 0.3 keV and 10 keV. A total of 6 counts were found near the position of ASKAP J1935+2148, but the mean background rate predicts 3.8 counts, and the chance of getting ≥6 counts is 9.2%. Therefore, we do not consider this a detection and place a 3 σ upper limit of 10 counts in 157.7 ks or a count-rate limit of 6.3 × 10 −5  counts per second (0.3–10 keV).

On the basis of the observed DM of 145.8 ± 3.5 pc cm −3 , we predict an absorbing column density of N H  ≈ 4 × 10 21  cm −2 (ref. 59 ). We computed unabsorbed flux limits for two spectral models: a blackbody with k T  = 0.3 keV (appropriate for thermal emission from a young pulsar/magnetar), and a power law with index Γ  = 2 (appropriate for non-thermal emission from an energetic pulsar/magnetar), following ref. 34 . This was done using PIMMS ( https://cxc.harvard.edu/toolkit/pimms.jsp ), where we assumed a response appropriate for Chandra cycle 22 and used the ACIS-I CCDs in place of the front-illuminated ACIS-S CCDs. With the blackbody model, we infer an unabsorbed flux limit of F BB  < 1.3 × 10 −15  erg s −1  cm −2 , while with the power-law model we infer an unabsorbed flux limit of F PL  < 1.7 × 10 −15  erg s −1  cm −2 . These imply luminosity limits of about \(4\times 1{0}^{30}{d}_{4.85}^{2}\,{{{\rm{erg}}}}\,{{{{\rm{s}}}}}^{-1}\) . Overall, the Chandra observations lead to very low limits regarding the time-averaged X-ray flux.

To search for any flaring from ASKAP J1935+2148, we used extensive observations from Swift, with 291 individual visits using the X-ray Telescope 20 lasting 5–2,600 s from December 2010 to December 2022 for a total exposure time of 302.4 ks (exposure corrected). We combined the individual barycentred exposures using HEADAS 60 on SciServer 61 into a single exposure-corrected dataset. We see no sources in the summed dataset at the position of ASKAP J1935+2148: there are 33 counts within 15″ of ASKAP J1935+2148, but the background expectation computed using an annulus from 30″ to 60″ is 35.4 counts, so we estimate a 3 σ upper limit of 53.0 counts or a count-rate limit of 1.7 × 10 −4  counts per second (0.15–10 keV). Using the same spectral models as above, we limit the unabsorbed flux (0.3–10 keV) to be F BB  < 7.4 × 10 −15  erg s −1  cm −2 and F PL  < 1.1 × 10 −14  erg s −1  cm −2 . These are much less constraining than the corresponding Chandra limits.

Optical and near-infrared searches

The position of ASKAP J1935+2148 was observed by the VLT using the near-infrared HAWK-I 21 imager. There were a number of observations of SGR 1935+2154 that placed ASKAP J1935+2148 near the edge of the field of view; we found the observations on 2 April 2015 to be the most useful. These included 300 s exposures in the J, H and K s bands (1.2 μm, 1.6 μm and 2.1 μm). However, even these exposures were not ideal, with weightmap values only 20% of the peak at the position of ASKAP J1935+2148. Nonetheless, the collecting area of VLT makes them valuable.

We show a RGB composite of the field around ASKAP J1935+2148 in Fig. 3 . It is clear that the source is near the edge of the field, and is barely covered by the H-band image. Coverage in the J and K s bands is better. There is a source within a 1.5″ radius around ASKAP J1935+2148 and has J  = 18.4 ± 0.1 mag, H  = 17.3 ± 0.1 mag and K s  = 17.1 ± 0.1 mag (Vega). We compute the chance of finding a source randomly (drawn from the background) in the K s image with magnitude brighter than or equal to this value is 5% (that is, ~2 σ association). This suggests that the association between the near-infrared source and ASKAP J1935+2148 is not statistically significant. Otherwise, we infer 5 σ upper limits of J  > 21.4 mag, H  > 20.5 mag and K s  > 19.8 mag. Aside from the deep VLT pointings, we examined images from Data Release 2 of the PS1 3π survey 22 . There is a source in the ‘stack’ catalogue that corresponds to the near-infrared source identified above. This source is catalogued as PSO J293.7711+21.8119. The source is not detected in the g, r or i bands, and has detections only in z (22.0 ± 0.3 mag) and y (20.4 ± 0.1). For the other bands and for the rest of the error region, we adopt the standard PS1 stack upper limits g  > 23.3, r  > 23.2, i  > 23.1, z  > 22.3 and y  > 21.3.

Search for persistent radio emission

To ascertain whether there is an unpulsed radio component that might be attributed to a wind nebula, or perhaps indicate emission of a non-neutron-star origin, we imaged the ASKAP visibility data. In a stacked ASKAP deep image at 887.5 MHz, if we subtract the mean background emission, there is no detection above 3 σ with an RMS of 25 μJy per beam. However, the location of the source at the edge of the supernova remnant in Extended Data Fig. 2 makes it is difficult to determine exactly what background emission to subtract. Therefore, we are unable to confirm the presence of potential (possibly faint) persistent continuum radio emission in either the MeerKAT or ASKAP data.

Faraday conversion

We tested whether the large circular polarization fraction seen in the MeerKAT beamformed data could be due to Faraday conversion using a simple phenomenological model 62 , where the polarization vector is modelled as a series of frequency-dependent rotations on the Poincaré sphere. However, we failed to recover any notable frequency dependence to the circular polarization. This indicates that it is either intrinsic to the emission mechanism or arises from a more complex propagation effect such as the partially coherent addition of linearly polarized modes 63 .

Model constraints

White dwarf.

We examine the potential for the optical/near-infrared data described above to constrain white-dwarf scenarios for the source. We used the synthetic photometry (see https://www.astro.umontreal.ca/~bergeron/CoolingModels/ ) of refs. 64 , 65 , 66 together with the three-dimensional extinction model of ref. 67 to compute distance constraints as a function of effective temperature for hydrogen-atmosphere (DA) white dwarfs with masses 0.6  M ⊙ and 1.0  M ⊙ , representing standard and massive white dwarfs, respectively (using helium-atmosphere DB white dwarfs does not change the conclusions). We did two analyses, one where we modelled the potential near-infrared counterpart and one where we treated the source as non-detections. Note that there are large degeneracies involved: extinction and effective temperature are highly degenerate, and other quantities such as mass (and hence radius) degenerate with distance. When considering the potential near-infrared counterpart as correct, and given the sparse data that would all be on the Rayleigh–Jeans tail, we unsurprisingly found a plausible fit to the VLT data with effective temperature, T eff  ≈ 15,000 K and distance ~6 kpc (implying reddening E ( B  −  V ) ≈ 2.8). However, the implied radius is ~0.8  R ⊙ , leading us to conclude that this source cannot be expected by standard white-dwarf models.

Considering only upper limits (so assuming that the source PSO J293.7711+21.8119 is not associated with ASKAP J1935+2148), we find that a white dwarf with T eff  < 30,000 K could be present at distances >1 kpc. Despite their greater sensitivity, we found the VLT data generally less constraining than the PS1 data given the range of effective temperatures considered. Given the implied average DM distance of 4.85 kpc from the NE2001 and YMW16 models, we do not consider the limits described here especially constraining. Under the framework of coherent radio emission from pair production, the compactness of the source can be related to the period and magnetic field so that we can estimate the minimum radius of the source 30 using

where P is the period in seconds, B is the magnetic field in gauss and Q c  =  ρ c / R is the dimensionless characteristic field curvature radius in which the curvature radius near the polar cap is assumed to be ρ c  ≈ 10 R . The conventional emission model for any compact object to emit dipole radiation assumes the existence of a vacuum gap above the polar cap. To sustain pair production, the potential difference across this gap must be sufficiently large and this is no longer possible beyond the classic death line 37 . As a result, pair production and consequently, radio emission ceases. The relation above therefore encodes radio death-line physics due to requirements on pair-cascade production and provides a lower limit on the compactness of an object to sustain this emission. A choice of Q c   ≫  10 is commensurate with the expected small polar cap size for a P  ≈ 1,000 s rotator. Assuming 10 ≤  Q c  ≤ 10 5 and B  = 10 9  G, we can rule out an isolated magnetic white-dwarf origin for the observed emission as the estimated lower limit on the radius of 0.14  R ⊙ , even in the case of Q c  = 10, is much too large for a white dwarf (Extended Data Fig. 5 ).

Neutron star

It has been proposed that bright coherent radio bursts can be produced by highly magnetized neutron stars that have attained long rotation periods (few tens to a few thousands of seconds), called ultralong period magnetars. Typically, magnetars have quiescent X-ray luminosities anywhere between 10 31  erg s −1 and 10 36  erg s −1 (refs. 19 , 68 ) regardless of radio emission (typically they are brighter in X-rays following outbursts that lead to radio emission), and so our deep X-ray limits from searching archival X-ray data challenge the magnetar interpretation. However, there are subclasses of magnetars with considerably weaker X-ray emission, <10 30  erg s −1 , such as the ‘low field’ magnetars whose 69 spin-down inferred fields are ~10 13  G, but where local X-ray absorption features suggest much higher localized fields 70 , 71 . If indeed ASKAP J1935+2148 and similar sources are part of another emerging subclass of magnetars, the quiescent X-ray luminosities (which are attributed to the decay of large-scale dipole magnetic fields) may be lower. If that is the case, it would also explain the location of ASKAP J1935+2148 as magnetars are typically expected to be young objects that lie in the Galactic Plane 11 . Combining all these observational aspects, ASKAP J1935+2148, is probably part of an older population of magnetars with long spin periods and low X-ray luminosities, but magnetized enough to be able to produce coherent radio emission. It is important that we probe this hitherto unexplored region of the neutron-star parameter space to get a complete picture of the evolution of neutron stars, and this may an important source to do so.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10989868 (ref. 72 ).

Code availability

The timing was performed using TEMPO2 (ref. 52 ). Specific Python scripts used in the data analysis are available on request from M.C.

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Acknowledgements

M.C. thanks E. Sadler, R. Ekers, D. Huber, L. Oswald and S. Oslowski for valuable discussions. This paper makes use of data from MeerKAT (project ID DDT-20210125-MC-01) and Parkes (project ID PX079). M.C. thanks SARAO for the approval of the MeerKAT DDT request, the science operations, CAM/CBF and operator teams for their time and effort invested in the observations, and the ATNF for scheduling observations with the Parkes radio telescope. The MeerKAT telescope is operated by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, which is a facility of the National Research Foundation, an agency of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). TRAPUM observations used the FBFUSE and APSUSE computing clusters for data acquisition, storage and analysis. These clusters were funded and installed by the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie and the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. This scientific work uses data obtained from telescopes within the Australia Telescope National Facility ( https://ror.org/05qajvd42 ), which is funded by the Australian Government for operation as a National Facility managed by CSIRO. The Parkes radio telescope (Murriyang) is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility ( https://ror.org/05qajvd42 ), which is funded by the Australian Government for operation as a National Facility managed by CSIRO. We acknowledge the Wiradjuri people as the Traditional Owners of the observatory site. Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara/the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory is the site of the CSIRO ASKAP radio telescope. We acknowledge the Wajarri Yamaji as the Traditional Owners and native title holders of the observatory site. Operation of ASKAP is funded by the Australian Government with support from the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy. ASKAP uses the resources of the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre. Establishment of Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, ASKAP and the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre are initiatives of the Australian Government, with support from the Government of Western Australia and the Science and Industry Endowment Fund. This paper includes archived data obtained through the CSIRO ASKAP Science Data Archive, CASDA ( http://data.csiro.au ). The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. Construction and installation of VLITE was supported by the NRL Sustainment Restoration and Maintenance fund. M.C. acknowledges support of an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award (project number DE220100819) funded by the Australian Government. Parts of this research were conducted by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), project number CE170100004. R.M.S. and N.H.-W. acknowledge support through Australian Research Council Future Fellowships FT190100155 and FT190100231, respectively. T.E.C. and S.G. acknowledge that basic research in Radio Astronomy at the US Naval Research Laboratory is supported by 6.1 Base Funding. K.M.R acknowledges support from the Vici research programme ‘ARGO’ with project number 639.043.815, financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

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Author information

These authors contributed equally: M. Caleb, E. Lenc.

Authors and Affiliations

Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

M. Caleb, T. Murphy & J. Pritchard

ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia

M. Caleb & T. Murphy

Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Space and Astronomy, Epping, New South Wales, Australia

E. Lenc & M. E. Lower

Center for Gravitation, Cosmology, and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA

D. L. Kaplan

Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn, Germany

Y. P. Men & E. D. Barr

Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia

R. M. Shannon, C. M. L. Flynn & M. Kramer

Mathematical Sciences Institute, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

L. Ferrario

ASTRON, The Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands

K. M. Rajwade & J. W. T. Hessels

Astrophysics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

K. M. Rajwade

Remote Sensing Division, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA

T. E. Clarke & S. Giacintucci

International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia

N. Hurley-Walker & Sam McSweeney

Department of Engineering and Physics, Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, VA, USA

S. D. Hyman

Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

Owens Valley Radio Observatory, California Institute of Technology, Big Pine, CA, USA

South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), Cape Town, South Africa

Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

B. W. Stappers

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Contributions

M.C. drafted the paper with suggestions from all co-authors and is the principal investigator of the MeerKAT data. M.C. reduced and analysed the MeerKAT TUSE/PTUSE data and undertook the timing analyses along with R.M.S. E.L. calibrated, imaged and performed astrometry on the ASKAP and MeerKAT data. D.L.K., T.M., L.F., K.M.R., N.H.-W., S.M., C.M.L.F., J.W.T.H., M.K., J.P. and B.W.S. contributed to discussions about the nature of the source. Y.P.M. analysed the MeerKAT APSUSE data and performed the beam subtraction. S.G. and T.E.C. performed the VLITE archive search, imaging and analyses. S.D.H. performed the VLA and GMRT archive search, imaging and analyses. M.E.L. performed the Faraday conversion analysis and is the principal investigator of the Parkes PX079 project. V.R. performed the Keck observations and calibration of the optical data. E.D.B. built and designed the beamformer used by MeerTRAP. S.B. scheduled the MeerKAT observations. C.M.L.F. interpreted the optical spectrum along with M.C. B.W.S. is the principal investigator of MeerTRAP.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to M. Caleb or E. Lenc .

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Extended data

Extended data fig. 1 \(p-\dot{p}\) diagram showing the spin-period against the period derivative for neutron stars as reported in the atnf pulsar catalog, and published long period transients..

Lines of constant age and magnetic field for neutron stars are shown as dotted and dashed lines respectively. The lower right region of the figure bounded by the various death lines represents the ‘death valley’ where sources below these lines are not expected to emit in the radio. The solid death line represents Equation 9 in 37 . In dot-dashed and dashed are the death lines modeled on curvature radiation from the vacuum gap and SCLF models as shown by Equations 4 and 9 respectively in 38 .

Extended Data Fig. 2 ASKAP deep image centered on SGR 1935+2154.

The data span 6 hours with a median rms of 42 μ Jy/beam. The position of ASKAP J1935 + 2148 places it \({5}_{.}^{{\prime} }6\) from SGR 1935 + 2154, and the DM = 145.8 ± 3.5 indicates that it is in the foreground.

Extended Data Fig. 3 The luminosity of different types of transients as a function of their width ( W ) and frequency ( ν ).

Diagonal lines represent constant brightness temperatures. The brightness temperature of 10 12 K separates coherent emitters from the incoherent ones, with the shaded region (lower right triangle) housing the incoherent emitters. The long period sources shown in the legend appear to cluster together as indicated by the box, which is merely to highlight the sources and does not have a physical significance.

Extended Data Fig. 4 Spectrum of PSO J293.7711+21.8119 using LRIS at the Keck telescope.

The data shows a featureless red continuum spectrum expected of L/T-dwarf stars.

Extended Data Fig. 5 Constraints on the radius of a source, in units of solar radii, for various assumed rotational periods.

Q c is the ratio of the field curvature radius to the stellar radius with the value inversely proportional to the size of the star. Q c is typically assumed to be 10 for WDs but is larger in reality. The vertical line denotes the period of ASKAP J1935 + 2148. Even in the most conservative case of Q c  = 10, we are able to rule out a white dwarf origin scenario. More details in Methods.

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Caleb, M., Lenc, E., Kaplan, D.L. et al. An emission-state-switching radio transient with a 54-minute period. Nat Astron (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02277-w

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Received : 01 February 2024

Accepted : 25 April 2024

Published : 05 June 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02277-w

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