While you are waiting

• Pick up an index card. Please write on it any question or authorship challenge that you want to have discussed. We plan to save time at the end of the session to discuss specific questions or examples

Publishing in Academia: Guidance on Authorship Issues

Patricia S. O’Sullivan, EdDArianne Teherani, PhD

University of California, San Francisco

Developed from O'Sullivan P, Chauvin S, Wolf F, Richardson D, Blanco M. Authorship Issues in Publishing and Career Development Workshop. MedEdPORTAL; 2013. Available from:

www.mededportal.org/publication/9309.

Time Activity

12:00-:15 While gathering—pick up a scenario card and an index card

12:15-:30 Introductions and Objectives

12:30-:50 Guidance on author issues

12:50-1:10 Small group activity

1:10-1:30 Debrief small group activity

1:30-1:50 Questions/cards/personal stories

1:50-2:00 Solicit “take away” points

Preview

Objectives

At the conclusion of this session you will be able to:

• Define criteria and guidelines for authorship.• Recognize dilemmas that can arise in determining

authorship.• Identify professional and ethical issues and

consequences of authorship and publishing decisions.

• Identify resources that may be useful to help with authorship decisions

What and Where Are the Guidelines and Ethics for Authorship?

• International standards – Example: International Committee of Medical Journal

Editors (ICMJE), Committee on Publications Ethics (COPE)

• Scientific journals• Example: Science, Nature

• Medical publications/journals– Example: JAMA, BMJ

• Education, social and behavioral science publications/journals– Example: AERA Code of Ethics, APA Publication Manual

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

“Authorship credit should be based only on: (1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be published. Conditions (1), (2), and (3) must all be met.

Acquisition of funding, the collection of data, or general supervision of the research group, by themselves, do not justify authorship.”

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

• “Editors are strongly encouraged to develop and implement a contributorship policy, as well as a policy on identifying who is responsible for the integrity of the work as a whole.”

• http://www.icmje.org

Committee on Publications Ethics (COPE)

• “COPE is a forum for editors and publishers of peer-reviewed journals to discuss all aspects of publication ethics. It also advises editors on how to handle cases of research and publication misconduct.”

• http://www.publicationethics.org/

COPE Key Concepts in Authorship

• First and last authors• Ghost authors – “professional writers (often paid by commercial

sponsors) whose role is not acknowledged” or – “people who made a significant contribution to a

research project (and fulfill the ICMJE criteria) but are not listed as authors”

• Gift authors – “names are added to curry favour” (sometimes called

“guest” authors) or – reciprocal understanding they will do the same for you to

“swell your publication lists”

How to Reduce the Incidence of Authorship Problems (COPE)

• 3 Recommended Principles:“(a) Encourage a culture of ethical authorship (b) Start discussing authorship when you plan your research (c) Decide authorship before you start each article” Note: set up check-ins during writing should the situation change

Science

• All authors agree to be listed• All have seen and approved manuscript• Affirm and explain contribution:– Must be an intellectual contribution

• Agree to conditions of publication and declare any COI

• Senior author must have examined the raw data

Albert, B. drawing on On Being a Scientist: Third Edition, published by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Nature

• Senior responsibilities:– Original data is retrievable and preserved– Approve data presentation as representative of

original data– Foreseeing and minimizing obstacles to sharing

• Each author– List contributions

• Corresponding author– Specific requirements

British Medical Journal

• Follows the uniform requirements for manuscripts• “When we encounter disagreements among authors

we follow guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)”

• “We want authors to assure us that all authors included on a paper fulfill the criteria of authorship. In addition we want assurance that there is no one else who fulfills the criteria but has not been included as an author.”

BMJ: Authorship and Contributorship

• “Contributorship Please note the way that we list the names of contributors to papers published in the BMJ. We believe that the definition of authorship, produced by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (or Vancouver Group), has some serious flaws.

• The current definition of authorship does not make clear who has contributed what to the published study, nor does it clarify who is responsible for the overall content. It also excludes those whose sole but often large contribution has been to collect data.

BMJ Authorship and Contributorship

• “We now list contributors in two ways.• Firstly, we publish a list of authors' names at

the beginning of the paper and, • Secondly, we list contributors (some of whom

may not be included as authors) at the end of the paper, giving details of who did what in planning, conducting, and reporting the work.”

BMJ Authorship and Contributorship

• One or more of these contributors are listed as guarantors of the paper.

• The guarantor accepts full responsibility for the work and/or the conduct of the study, had access to the data, and controlled the decision to publish.”

AERA Code of Ethics 15. Authorship Credit

(a) Education researchers ensure that all who have made a substantive contribution to an intellectual product are listed as authors.

(b) Education researchers take responsibility and credit, including authorship credit, only for work they have actually performed or to which they have contributed.

AERA Code of Ethics 15. Authorship Credit

(c) Education researchers ensure that principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits are based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. Education researchers specify the criteria for making these determinations at the outset of the writing process.

AERA Code of Ethics 15. Authorship Credit

(d) A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

Publication Manual of American Psychological Association (6th Ed) 2010

• Definition of authorship• Determining authorship• Order of authorship

APA Definition of Authorship

“Substantial professional contributions may include:– Formulating the problem or hypothesis– Structuring the experimental design–Organizing and conducting the statistical analysis– Interpreting the results–Writing a major portion of the paper

Those who so contribute are listed in the byline.”

APA Definition of Authorship

“Lesser contributions, which do not constitute authorship, may be acknowledged in a note . . . . and may include supportive functions as:–Designing or building the apparatus– Suggesting or advising about the statistical

analysis– Collecting or entering data–Modifying or structuring a computer program– Recruiting participants or animals”

APA Definition of Authorship: Lesser Contributions

“Conducting routine observations or diagnoses for use in studies does not constitute authorship.”“Combinations of these (and other) tasks, however, may justify authorship.”

Small Group Activity

• Form groups of four. Each person has a card:– Real scenario– Varied responses (some true/some not)

• Discuss each scenario answering:– Was the response good/neutral/bad for the individual?– What were ethical, professional, career issues that

influenced the response?

Debrief

Answering Your Questions

Research Integrity Objectives Touched upon Today

• Honesty and fairness in proposing, performing, and reporting research;

• Accuracy and fairness in representing contributions to research proposals and reports;

• Collegiality in scientific interactions, communications and sharing of resources;

• Adherence to the mutual responsibilities of mentors and trainees."

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