The acknowledgements section is where you recognize the people and institutions that contributed to your research without being listed as authors. It is brief, specific, and placed in a defined location in the document. This guide explains what to include, how to write it, and where it goes in APA, thesis, and journal paper formats.
What the Acknowledgements Section Is For
Acknowledgements give credit to contributors who fall outside the formal authorship criteria — people who provided data, methodological advice, statistical support, laboratory access, funding, or personal support. They also disclose funding sources and grant numbers, which is a transparency requirement in many journals and institutions.
What to Include
| Type of contribution | Typically acknowledged? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Funding agencies and grants | Yes — required by most journals | «This research was supported by Grant No. 12345 from the National Science Foundation.» |
| Research assistants | Yes — if they contributed meaningfully | «We thank Ana Torres for assistance with data collection.» |
| Statistical or methodological consultants | Yes | «Dr. James Park provided guidance on the multilevel modeling approach.» |
| Institutions that provided access | Yes | «We are grateful to the Universidad Nacional for access to archival records.» |
| Participants | Sometimes — especially in qualitative research | «We thank all participants for their time and willingness to share their experiences.» |
| Personal support (family, friends) | In theses/dissertations — yes; in journal articles — generally not | «The author thanks her family for their encouragement throughout this project.» |
| AI tools used in writing | Increasingly expected — check journal policy | Disclose according to the publication’s AI use policy |
What to Exclude
- People who qualify as co-authors — they belong on the author line, not in acknowledgements
- Vague, generic thanks with no specific contribution («I thank everyone who helped»)
- Editors or reviewers of the journal by name — this is not standard practice and can violate blind review protocols
- Excessive personal dedications in journal articles — save those for the thesis
Where the Acknowledgements Go
| Document type | Position |
|---|---|
| APA journal manuscript | After the abstract, before the introduction; labeled «Author Note» in APA format |
| APA student paper | Not typically required; if included, after the abstract |
| Thesis or dissertation | Preliminary pages — after the abstract, before the table of contents |
| IEEE paper | Before the references, after the conclusion; labeled «Acknowledgment» (no ‘e’) |
| MLA paper | Not standard in MLA; if required, at the end before Works Cited |
APA Format: Author Note vs. Acknowledgements
In APA, what other styles call «Acknowledgements» appears as the Author Note on the title page. The Author Note has four standardized parts:
- ORCID iDs — link each author’s ORCID identifier
- Changes in affiliation — if an author moved institutions since the research was conducted
- Disclosures and acknowledgements — funding sources, conflicts of interest, data availability, and thanks to contributors
- Contact information — corresponding author’s email and institutional address
Example Acknowledgements — Journal Article
This study was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Grant No. 435-2023-1045). The authors thank Dr. Lucia Méndez for her contributions to the study design and Dr. Carlos Reyes for assistance with the statistical analysis. We also thank the three anonymous reviewers whose comments substantially improved this manuscript.Example Acknowledgements — Thesis or Dissertation
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Sarah T. Williams, for her invaluable guidance, patience, and expertise throughout this research. I also thank the members of my committee, Dr. James Park and Dr. Ana Torres, for their constructive feedback during each stage of this project.
This research was funded by the Graduate Research Fellowship from the Department of Psychology at State University (Grant FY2024-089).
I am grateful to the participants who generously shared their time and experiences. Finally, I thank my family for their unwavering support.IEEE Acknowledgment Format
IEEE uses «Acknowledgment» (American spelling, no ‘e’ before the ‘d’). It appears as an unnumbered section just before the references. It is typically 2–4 sentences and focuses on funding and technical contributions:
The authors would like to thank the National Science Foundation for supporting this work under Grant No. CNS-2024-0123. The authors also thank the Systems Research Laboratory at MIT for providing access to the testbed infrastructure used in this study.Common Mistakes
- Omitting the grant number — funding agencies require exact grant numbers; «funded by NSF» without the grant number is insufficient
- Acknowledging co-authors — contributors who qualify for authorship should be authors, not acknowledgees
- Using first names only — refer to contributors by full name or title + last name for professional clarity
- Placing it in the wrong location — position varies by style and document type; check the target journal’s author guidelines
For complete APA paper formatting including the Author Note structure, see the APA format guide.