Why ascribing authorship is important

Abstract

There is no universally agreed definition of authorship. The Committee on Publication Ethics suggests that authorship should balance contribution to conception, design, analysis and writing of the study against collection of data and other routine work.1 Journals receive many concerns and complaints about authorship, such as claims of being unfairly omitted as an author, claims of being included as an author without consent and backing out of authorship when concerns over the integrity of a paper are raised.2 The Australian Journal of Rural Health (AJRH) aspires to the best practice and the highest standards of ethical conduct in scholarly publishing. One of these standards is the ascribing of authorship. Ascribing authorship is important for many reasons. It recognises and describes the contribution and intellectual input of those involved in the research. It is part of the public record that signals to colleagues and the scientific community the experience, expertise and involvement of individuals in the research and publication process. It can contribute to the success of authors in obtaining grants, future employment and promotion. As such, it is very important not to under-state or over-state an individual's contribution to a published work. Senior authors who do a noble thing by ascribing first authorship to students and junior colleagues when it is not warranted are indeed being unfair to other students and junior staff whose mentors ascribe authorship according to ethical guidelines. There are numerous definitions, criteria and guidelines for ascribing authorship. The AJRH follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The ICMJE lists four criteria that must be met for an individual to be listed as an author. These are: Substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data for the work; AND Drafting the work or revising 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. The ICMJE recommends that individuals should meet ALL four criteria to be listed as an author and that all who meet the four criteria should be listed as an author. The guidelines are not designed as a means to exclude people from authorship. In fact, the guidelines recommend that those who meet the first criteria should have an opportunity to participate in criteria 2 and 3. This is important to equalising power imbalances for scholarly work with students and in work where service recipients (consumers) have been involved in research design. Authors must ensure the integrity of their contribution and be accountable for their work. Furthermore, all authors should have read and endorsed the final manuscript and take full responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the contributions of their co-authors.3 When you agree to be a co-author, you agree to be accountable for the work of your co-authors. While this requirement has generated some discussion, it nonetheless remains an ICMJE recommendation. For those who contributed, but do not warrant authorship, their contributions should be acknowledged individually or as a group. This acknowledgement should clearly describe the nature and extent of the contribution. Since formal acknowledgement could imply endorsement of a publication, written permission should be obtained from all acknowledged individuals and groups. Accurately ascribing authorship is important and is informed by clear guidelines. Issues of authorship should be discussed and agreed very early in the research process. This includes the order in which authors are listed. This can vary by discipline and journal. Some disciplines list all authors in alphabetical order. Some clinical journals list the most senior author last. However most disciplines and journals, including this journal, list the authors from most to least contribution. Early reference to the publisher's (in our case, Wiley's) guidelines on publishing ethics4 and, if needed, the journal's ethics helpdesk (publication.ethics@wiley.com) can prevent authorship issues arising later. Being overly generous or being overly circumspect in ascribing authorship both have negative consequences and constitute unethical practice. Scrupulously adhering to the authorship guidelines helps ensure the quality and integrity of the publication and the scholarly discourse generally. All of these are standards to which the AJRH aspires.