Authorship Disputes
Dear Faculty Relations: My colleague is claiming that my contributions to a shared paper don’t qualify me for inclusion as an author. I’ve helped quite a bit with collecting and analyzing data and drafted the methods section. How should I resolve our dispute? —Shut Out Author
Dear Shut Out: Without proper planning, authorship disputes can be common. These disputes typically involve author order, being left off publications when authorship is merited (ghost authorship), or giving authorship to those who haven’t earned it (gift or honorary authorship).
While there are differences across disciplines, authorship is generally based on four criteria:
- Contributions to the design of the work or the collection and analysis of data;
- Drafting or revising the work for important intellectual content;
- Giving final approval for the published version; and
- Agreeing to be accountable for the accuracy and integrity of the entire work.
Importantly, financial support does not alone qualify someone for authorship (even if acknowledging support is required).
Our office suggests a few best practices for preventing authorship disputes:
- The Primary Investigator (PI) should communicate authorship expectations clearly at the start of every project. Remember: junior researchers can request written expectations from the PI or their supervisor.
- Create an Authorship Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), that details which contributions qualify researchers for authorship status, how author order will be determined, and who will serve as lead or co-lead author and final author.
- Discuss authorship regularly (especially as people join or leave research projects) and follow good lab practices (maintaining lab notebooks, annotating electronic files, documenting contributions).
If you do find yourself in a dispute, we recommend these practices:
- Consult any MOU or documentation that discusses what qualifies one for authorship, gather records of your contributions, and then try to informally resolve the dispute with your co-authors.
- If this fails, consider using a neutral arbiter or the Ombuds Office to mediate.
- If you can’t resolve the matter, consider discussing the matter with your chair or Supervising Administrator.
- And finally, if the dispute rises to the level of plagiarism, the problem may constitute research misconduct and you should report your concern to the Office of Research Security and Integrity.
Written by Tom Heddleston, Research Compliance Associate, Office of Research Security and Integrity