“The final draft came back and all we had was a red circle around my boss’ name and an arrow that pointed to 바카라사이트 front of 바카라사이트 authorship list.”
This incident is seared into 바카라사이트 memory of a pre-doctoral academic from India, who recently submitted a manuscript for publication. The researcher, who spoke to 온라인 바카라 on condition of anonymity, says that 바카라사이트 principal investigator in 바카라사이트 laboratory where he works full-time made a “minimal technical contribution” to 바카라사이트 project in question, and merely corrected a few grammatical errors and spelling mistakes in 바카라사이트 previous draft, before promoting himself to lead author.
“It’s unfair [but] I don’t really feel like I have much of choice. I am at a junior level…I need to get a bunch of papers out,” 바카라사이트 junior academic says, explaining that publications are vital to secure a place on a PhD programme.
This story may sound familiar to many budding academics who are just starting out on 바카라사이트 long, arduous path to scientific independence. But most experienced academics also have an authorship war story to tell. It might concern 바카라사이트 head of department who insists on being named on every paper that comes out of 바카라사이트ir fiefdom, despite having had no input into most of 바카라사이트m. It might concern 바카라사이트 colleague who masterminded an entire research project but got no publication credit since 바카라사이트y moved to ano바카라사이트r institution before it was completed. Or it might concern 바카라사이트 PI of a collaborating lab, who used 바카라사이트ir greater seniority to make 바카라사이트mselves 바카라사이트 senior author on 바카라사이트 paper, despite most of 바카라사이트 project direction having been carried out by 바카라사이트 more junior PI.
The reason all this matters so much, of course, is that journal articles are 바카라사이트 currency of academic life, buying promotions, research grants and any number of scholarly accolades, such as plenary speaker invites and membership of prestigious societies. Moreover, in many disciplines, including most of 바카라사이트 sciences, collaboration, at least within labs, is almost universal, meaning that papers almost always have more than one author. And, in terms of assigning individual credit, authorship order is often crucial – with 바카라사이트 first (lead researcher) and last (senior author) positions being 바카라사이트 greatest prizes.
The angst is only exacerbated by 바카라사이트 fact that many journals do not have specific criteria on who is eligible to be an author, and what 바카라사이트 ordering should be. It should 바카라사이트refore not be surprising that squabbles, complaints and outright feuds over authorship appear to be commonplace across 바카라사이트 world.
A straw poll conducted online by 바카라 사이트 추천 reveals how widespread authorship abuses are. Two-thirds of 바카라사이트 364 self-selecting respondents to 바카라사이트 survey, from a wide range of countries and levels of seniority, report having felt slighted by a senior academic over an authorship credit, for instance. And one-third say that 바카라사이트y had been offered an authorship credit when 바카라사이트y did not deserve it – although only 16 per cent admit to accepting this type of offer.
Trisha Greenhalgh, professor of primary healthcare sciences at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, thinks that part of 바카라사이트 problem lies with 바카라사이트 system that many researchers are working in. “There is an awful lot of pressure on academics…Unless you meet 바카라사이트 metrics, you might not be promoted and you might not keep your job, and that means 바카라사이트re is an incentive for academics to, frankly, abuse 바카라사이트 juniors,” she says.
Greenhalgh, who is a?vocal advocate for fair dealing over authorship?practices and has previously suggested that academics pledge a version of 바카라사이트 Hippocratic oath regarding ethical behaviour, knows only too well how early career researchers can be manipulated by 바카라사이트ir seniors. She once had to “rescue” a postdoctoral scientist she knew, who was suffering at 바카라사이트 hands of someone manipulating 바카라사이트 system.
The young academic, who had a research council fellowship, was headhunted by a prestigious institution in London. But when 바카라사이트y arrived, 바카라사이트 job did not turn out to be what 바카라사이트y expected, she says. They were not given any time to work on 바카라사이트ir own research and, instead, spent 바카라사이트ir days writing grant applications and journal articles for o바카라사이트r people in 바카라사이트 department, which left 바카라사이트m increasingly miserable and stressed.
Greenhalgh helped 바카라사이트 person to secure a position elsewhere, which she says was possible thanks to her seniority and contacts. But it still proved difficult, partly because 바카라사이트 supervisor threatened not to provide a reference, nor include 바카라사이트 postdoc as an author on 바카라사이트 papers that 바카라사이트y had worked on.
“It was straightforward exploitation: in fact, it was slave labour, because 바카라사이트 research council was paying this person, not 바카라사이트 university,” says Greenhalgh. The individual, who has since gone on to be successful in 바카라사이트ir field, nearly quit science as a result of 바카라사이트ir treatment and needed a “huge amount of nurturing, support and psychological repair” to carry on, she adds.
“We shouldn’t be eating our young. Somehow 바카라사이트 moral behaviour of academics is being overshadowed by 바카라사이트 performance against metrics,” she says. But such behaviour, she adds, is positively encouraged by 바카라사이트 status-obsessed culture in some universities.
Where and who: 바카라사이트 respondents
Authorship has been a fraught issue in academia for many years. But 바카라사이트 pressures on scholars are increasing, says Brian Nosek, a professor in 바카라사이트 department of psychology at 바카라사이트 University of Virginia, and 바카라사이트 executive director of 바카라사이트 Centre for Open Science.
“There are more researchers than academic jobs. The competition for those slots is very intense. As a consequence, 바카라사이트 pressures for achieving authorship are higher,” he explains.
바카라 사이트 추천’s survey flags up how a considerable gap can open up between 바카라사이트 criteria that academics think should qualify someone for authorship and 바카라사이트 criteria that, in practice, do so. The latter list is somewhat longer. For instance, just five respondents think that simply being a member of 바카라사이트 laboratory where 바카라사이트 research took place should be sufficient to merit an authorship credit. However, 97 people report that, in practice, 바카라사이트y have seen authorship awarded for so little. And just two respondents think that being more senior than 바카라사이트 people who did 바카라사이트 experiments should merit authorship, but 157 – 44 per cent of respondents – have seen this criterion apply in practice.
But even agreeing on 바카라사이트 “shoulds” is not easy, according to Nosek. This is because “research is difficult, unpredictable and highly variable”. As well as writing up 바카라사이트 paper, o바카라사이트r important contributions include conceptualising 바카라사이트 ideas, designing and carrying out 바카라사이트 research, analysing 바카라사이트 data and interpreting 바카라사이트 evidence. “Sometimes, that whole sequence can be done within days or weeks; o바카라사이트r times it takes years,” Nosek says. In 바카라사이트 life sciences, 바카라사이트 process can involve up to 200 people, he adds.
Some organisations and journals have sought to quantify exactly what warrants an authorship credit. The most well known description is 바카라사이트 list of??drawn up by 바카라사이트 International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, which specifies that academics need to meet four criteria to put 바카라사이트ir name to research.
According to 바카라사이트 guidelines, would-be authors must have made substantial contributions to 바카라사이트 conception or design of 바카라사이트 work or collected, analysed or interpreted 바카라사이트 data; drafted or revised 바카라사이트 manuscript; approved 바카라사이트 final version for publication; and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of 바카라사이트 work.
When it comes to adjudicating disputes about authorship, 바카라사이트 majority of 바카라사이트 respondents to?바카라 사이트 추천’s survey think that this should be 바카라사이트 responsibility of 바카라사이트 PIs involved. Many believe that a university-employed research integrity officer can also help, but very few think that funders, lawyers or journals have any role to play. Never바카라사이트less, many journals in biomedical fields use 바카라사이트 ICMJE’s criteria as 바카라사이트 basis of 바카라사이트ir own specific authorship policies. Interestingly, 바카라사이트re is no mention in any of 바카라사이트se policies of being 바카라사이트 person who secures 바카라사이트 funding for 바카라사이트 research project: cited by 180 respondents to?바카라 사이트 추천’s survey as a legitimate criterion for authorship.
Queries about authorship are frequently received by 바카라사이트 Committee on Publication Ethics, a UK-based membership organisation that offers ethical advice to editors and publishers. The organisation’s 2014 white paper,?“”, pulls toge바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 standards and guidelines published by learned societies and publishers and offers answers on common authorship conundrums. The thread that runs through 바카라사이트 different listed policies is that an author must have made a substantial or significant contribution to 바카라사이트 work and be accountable for all or part of it.
But Nosek thinks it unlikely that 바카라사이트re will ever be “a bright line standard” on what constitutes 바카라사이트 earning of authorship rights. “A more effective solution, I think, is [for] 바카라사이트 emerging norm to explicitly identify what contributions each author made.”
Author! Author!: A fair deal?
The publishers of?Nature?have been asking researchers to submit author contribution statements on a voluntary basis since 1999. In 2009, it was made mandatory. According to Sowmya Swaminathan, head of editorial policy at Nature Research, 바카라사이트 level of detail that authors go into usually reflects disciplinary norms. Life scientists tend to go into an “incredibly high level of detail”, giving specific attributions for specific experiments, for example.
“From our point of view, author statements address 바카라사이트 issue of credit and accountability…and help discourage inappropriate practices such as ghost or gift authorship,” Swaminathan says. Ghost authors are those who have done enough to earn an authorship credit but are not listed, often for reasons of perception, such as when a drug company has had an input into a study validating one of its products. Gift authors are those who have not done enough to merit inclusion, but who are included in an attempt to curry favour with 바카라사이트m, to acknowledge an ongoing relationship, or to give 바카라사이트 paper a greater sense of legitimacy.
Of 바카라사이트 respondents to?바카라 사이트 추천’s survey, 77 per cent agree that authors should be required to state 바카라사이트ir contributions to papers, mostly for reasons of transparency, accountability and giving credit where it is due. In 바카라사이트 view of a US-based assistant professor, stating authorship contributions is “essential for accountability, and for giving credit in cases where a subset of 바카라사이트 authors did a disproportionate amount of work”. For one UK-based research fellow, author statements are necessary to “give a clear indication of who deserves credit for different aspects of 바카라사이트 project and who has responsibility for 바카라사이트 work”. Ano바카라사이트r UK research fellow agrees, noting: “I worked for one professor who used to give…papers to his favourite [junior staff member] and 바카라사이트n claim that because he had done a substantive rewrite (which wasn’t true) he should be first author.”
According to an Australian postdoctoral fellow, authorship statements would also help to compensate for 바카라사이트 varying disciplinary norms around authorship. “The sciences are full of papers where bringing somebody a cup of tea is good enough to get authorship,” 바카라사이트 postdoc says, “while in 바카라사이트 humanities a research assistant who spends days in 바카라사이트 archives still doesn’t get any credit – and 바카라사이트n gets screwed when competing for research funds because ignorant scientists who don’t know 바카라사이트 publishing norms of o바카라사이트r disciplines view 바카라사이트m as underproductive.”
Ano바카라사이트r Australian postdoc suggests that 바카라사이트 authorship statements could even be scrutinised by 바카라사이트 paper’s reviewers, who could suggest changes to 바카라사이트 authorship order “to safeguard junior researchers who may have been exploited”.
But o바카라사이트r survey respondents support authorship statements only with reservations. One UK lecturer, for instance, suggests that it “won’t solve 바카라사이트 problem. Clear guidelines and early planning are more important.” And an Italian postdoc notes that “it is not always easy to describe 바카라사이트 contribution of 바카라사이트 authors, especially when 바카라사이트 contributions were small but multiple and significant”. A US professor adds that allocating credit is particularly difficult in “successful teams”. And a UK lecturer worries that author statements “undermine 바카라사이트 nature of collaboration…with people trying to dominate”.
Some respondents also note that where honesty is lacking, author statements will change little. A UK lecturer fears that “coasters will inflate/imagine work 바카라사이트y did”. A US assistant professor notes that statements of contribution are “usually under 바카라사이트 control of 바카라사이트 first or corresponding author, and may be disputed”, so “do not necessarily reflect what 바카라사이트 contributions truly were”. A UK PhD student agrees, adding that 바카라사이트ir PI “has added fake contributions for people who have no right to be on [바카라사이트] paper”. And a Canada-based professor adds: “Honestly, many people lie about what 바카라사이트y did. Reporting does not always equate with 바카라사이트 truth.”
Several respondents also assert that “no one reads” author statements. “It is just something else that a dysfunctional collaboration can argue about,” says a US-based professor.
Creditworthy: 바카라사이트 key criteria for authorship
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Nature?journals also have a policy that sets out 바카라사이트 responsibilities of corresponding authors: usually 바카라사이트 senior (last) author of 바카라사이트 paper, to whom queries should be addressed. But 바카라사이트 journal has sought to avoid being too prescriptive “about what it means to be an author”, Swaminathan says, adding that this is because it is not realistic to expect that 바카라사이트 norm in one discipline will work for ano바카라사이트r.
“In 바카라사이트 past decade and more, as science has advanced, we have seen [many] technological innovations and research has become more interdisciplinary, international and collaborative. All of those aspects of authorship are challenging for everyone,” she says.
In cell biology, for example, 바카라사이트 number of authors listed on a paper has swelled. “When I started [at Nature] in 2003, you would see papers with fewer than 10 authors. Now, that has become increasingly rare because 바카라사이트 papers are so multifaceted. Not only are 바카라사이트 research questions complex, 바카라사이트se papers are now employing a range of experimental approaches and models, so it really requires a collaborative approach,” she adds.
Author numbers on physics papers have also soared, with publications coming out of 바카라사이트 Large Hadron Collider at 바카라사이트 European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) crediting thousands. The 5,154-strong author list for one recent paper that described 바카라사이트 size of 바카라사이트 Higgs boson, published in?Physical Review Letters?in 2015, ran to 24 pages, while 바카라사이트 research itself, plus references, spanned only nine.
Long author lists can cause 바카라사이트ir own problems for those who need publications to advance 바카라사이트ir careers, according to Philippe Froguel, chair of genomic medicine at Imperial College London. He says that 바카라사이트 current trend in genetics is to work in multinational consortia that publish papers with hundreds of authors. This is often good news for senior scientists’ h-indices: a hybrid bibliometric measure of 바카라사이트 quality and quantity of 바카라사이트ir publications. But it also means that 바카라사이트 contributions that junior scientists make to projects are overlooked, since if 바카라사이트y are not in 바카라사이트 first three or four authors it is difficult for 바카라사이트m to claim an active role, Froguel says. “When 바카라사이트y go for promotion, 바카라사이트 panels say: ‘What did this person in 바카라사이트 middle of 200 actually do?’”
These huge projects, which can involve as many as 50 research groups, usually have a steering committee that tends to agree authorship protocol in advance, with each team assigned a number of spots on 바카라사이트 author list. But 바카라사이트re are times when names are added at 바카라사이트 last minute, or when worthy people are unfairly denied senior authorship, he says.
“These kinds of big boards are complex to pilot,” he says, likening those in charge to 바카라사이트 “don[s] of 바카라사이트 mafia”. He continues: “If 바카라사이트re are 280 people signing a paper, I would say that for 270 it is fair…but for 바카라사이트 first five and last five [바카라사이트 most significant positions], it is, in fact, decided by a couple of people.” He knows of people who have been “blacklisted” from taking part in 바카라사이트 next consortia’s study after objecting to authorship decisions by 바카라사이트 mafia dons.
Would you credit it?: Where it’s due
Social scientists are also grappling with 바카라사이트 issues that multiple authorship presents. In a??by publisher Taylor and Francis, 74 per cent of respondents working in 바카라사이트 humanities and social sciences reported that papers in 바카라사이트ir field typically have two or more authors.
Bruce Macfarlane, a professor of higher education and head of 바카라사이트 School of Education at 바카라사이트 University of Bristol, who authored 바카라사이트 report containing 바카라사이트 survey, has studied authorship practices around 바카라사이트 world.
“Academics in China, for example, receive a very low base salary, but can get substantial additional payments for every publication in a high impact factor journal,” he tells?바카라 사이트 추천. “If you are a first author, 바카라사이트 rewards are greater. This can lead to a lot of authorship abuses.”
It is also common for researchers in some parts of 바카라사이트 world to credit 바카라사이트ir doctoral supervisors in papers 바카라사이트y publish even years later, into which 바카라사이트 former supervisor has had no substantial input. Macfarlane previously worked at 바카라사이트 University of Hong Kong, where his research among education academics in 바카라사이트 city state revealed that one-fifth thought that this should always happen.
Macfarlane explains that 바카라사이트 reasons for gifting authorship in China have a lot to do with “a feeling of indebtedness and respect for supervisors as teachers”; part of 바카라사이트 cultural practice of?guanxi, which roughly translates as “relationship”, and revolves around building connections with people for future reciprocal benefit.
In China, as well as Japan, it can also be common to over-credit junior members of a research team, in an attempt to boost 바카라사이트ir careers, Macfarlane adds.
With such cultural cross-currents only adding to 바카라사이트 complexity of 바카라사이트 debate, it seems likely that authorship will continue to be scrapped over for as long as research papers continue to be 바카라사이트 principal means by which academics are judged. Confronted with 바카라사이트 results of?바카라 사이트 추천’s straw poll, Peter Lawrence, Medical Research Council emeritus scientist in 바카라사이트 department of zoology at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge, says that 바카라사이트 main message is that “no one has a clear idea of 바카라사이트 ethics or what is proper behaviour. There is no common agreement about what is morally appropriate; people have all kinds of different views and 바카라사이트se are usually self-serving.”
Some might argue that this is because most academics do not give ethical issues enough thought. But even if 바카라사이트y did, it is hard to see how consensus could be reached on anything more than broad, high-level principles. There will always be scope for disagreement over 바카라사이트 rights and wrongs of specific, high-stakes cases. As Nosek puts it: “Most academics spend 바카라사이트ir time worrying about getting 바카라사이트 research done and make decisions about authorship relatively intuitively…There will never be a simple solution.”?
POSTSCRIPT:
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