Writer's Guide
Collection of resources to support writing in the health sciences.
Authorship and Contributorship
Determining Authorship
Deciding who should be an author on your paper can be difficult, here are some ways to help you make a determination.
- Defining the Role of Authors and ContributorsRecommendations from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), "a small working group of general medical journal editors whose participants meet annually and fund their own work on the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals." View current members of the ICMJE.
- Authorship and contributorshipRecommendations from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), whose "members are primarily editors, but also publishers, universities and research institutes, and related organisations and individuals involved in publication ethics." View current members of COPE.
Should I Give My Librarian Authorship or Acknowledgement?
First review the resources above for determining authorship, then consider inviting a librarian into your project based on the following resources.
- Librarian Co-Authored Systematic Reviews are Associated with Lower Risk of Bias Compared to Systematic Reviews with Acknowledgement of Librarians or No Participation by Librarians2019 article in Evidence Based Library and Information Practice by Mikaela Aamodt, Hugo Huurdeman, and Hilde Strømme.
- It’s Time to Acknowledge Authorship for Librarians and Information Professionals on Evidence Synthesis PublicationsGuidance from the Medical Library Association (MLA) "in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)".
Managing Disputes About Authorship
- How to handle authorship disputes: A guide for new researchersGuidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
- How to recognise potential authorship problems [Infographic]Guidance from COPE.