Abstract
There has been an increase in the number of journal articles that are co-authored by researchers who claim to have made equal contributions. This growth has sparked discussions in the literature, especially within medical journals. To extend the debate beyond medical disciplines and support journal editors in forming an opinion, the current review collates and explores published viewpoints about so-called Equal Co-authorship (EC) practices. The Web of Science core database was used to identify publications that mention and discuss EC. Within the limited number of publications that were found on the Web of Science database, the most-cited item was used to trace other papers that discuss EC. In total, 39 papers (including articles and editorials) met the inclusion criteria. This review identifies four main themes within the sample including the growth of EC, challenges of attributing EC, guidelines and policies about EC and gender issues in the attribution of EC. Based on the survey and analysis of publications that discuss EC, this review provides recommendations regarding journal policy statements, and EC indicators. Those recommendations include: (1) journal policies should address EC; and (2) use should be made of available functionalities (CRediT, for example) to capture and indicate equal contributions.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1133-1148 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Science and Engineering Ethics |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1 2020 |
Funding
I wish to acknowledge that my discussions with Professor Samuel Bruton clarified the absence of structured research on this topic and the need for a review. I also want to thank and acknowledge the valuable feedback offered by the editor, three anonymous reviewers, and Ms. Ellen Howley of the Dublin City University Writing Center. At the time of submission, I receive funding from the EnTIRE Consortium (Mapping Normative Frameworks for Ethics and Integrity of Research), which is supported by the European Union?s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 741782. The funders have not played a role in the design, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. I wish to acknowledge that my discussions with Professor Samuel Bruton clarified the absence of structured research on this topic and the need for a review. I also want to thank and acknowledge the valuable feedback offered by the editor, three anonymous reviewers, and Ms. Ellen Howley of the Dublin City University Writing Center. At the time of submission, I receive funding from the EnTIRE Consortium (Mapping Normative Frameworks for Ethics and Integrity of Research), which is supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 741782. The funders have not played a role in the design, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Keywords
- Authorship attribution
- Equal co-authorship
- Equal contribution
- Recognition
- Scientific authorship
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Issues, ethics and legal aspects
- Health Policy
- Management of Technology and Innovation
