Abstract
For better or for worse, authorship is a currency in scholarly research and advancement. In scholarly writing, authorship is widely acknowledged as a means of conferring credit but is also tied to concepts such as responsibility and accountability. Authorship is one of the most divisive topics both at the level of the research team and more broadly in the academy and beyond. At present, authorship is often the primary way to assert and receive credit in many scholarly pursuits and domains. Debates rage, publicly but mostly privately, regarding authorship. Here we attempt to clarify key concepts related to authorship informed by our collective experiences and anchored in relevant contemporary literature. Rather than dwelling on the problems, we focus on proactive strategies for creating more just, equitable, and transparent avenues for minimizing conflict around authorship and where there is adequate recognition of the entire process of knowledge generation, synthesis, sharing, and application with partners within and beyond the academy. We frame our ideas around 10 strategies that collectively constitute a roadmap for avoiding and overcoming challenges associated with authorship decisions.
Highlights
The scholarly periodical has served as the primary mechanism by which knowledge is shared and archived (McKie 1948; Kronick 1991)
The Committee on Publishing Ethics (COPE) provides guidelines, best practices, and resources to help authors, editors, publishers, and others navigate a range of authorship disputes (Dance 2012), including a guide for new researchers to deal with authorship disputes and a flow chart to recognize potential authorship problems
Perspectives on authorship are evolving with much thinking in the last few years about how to ensure credit is given where credit is due while ensuring that “free-riders” are excluded
Summary
The scholarly periodical ( called a “publication”) has served as the primary mechanism by which knowledge is shared and archived (McKie 1948; Kronick 1991). We focus on authorship in the context of credit and contributions but acknowledge that accountability and responsibility for research outputs is an important topic.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
