Research Integrity Spotlight

Authorship - What? Why? How?

Authorship involves recognising those who have made significant contributions to a piece of research. Part of the authorship process involves determining whether the people who contributed to the research meet the criteria for authorship (or perhaps, an acknowledgement).


It is important to ensure that people who meet the minimum criteria are included as an author, just as much as those who do not meet the criteria are not included. Aside from being the
right thing to do, ensuring correct authorship helps to maintain the integrity, transparency, and high standards of research that we all know and love.

Rohan ATTA system

To be considered an author at the University of Adelaide, you must have made a significant scholarly intellectual contribution to the research based on at least two of the following five criteria:

  • Conception (or the design of the project)
  • Acquiring data (when it requires significant intellectual judgement/input)
  • Knowledge (including Indigenous knowledge)
  • Analysis (and/or interpretation of data)
  • Drafting (or revision of significant parts of the research output)

If you’re so inclined, the Authorship Policy can be found here.

  • Gift Authorship

    Gift authorship, ghost authorship, guest authorship, or honorary authorship (however you want to refer to it) may sound like a good thing, but it goes against the principles of authorship, is dishonest, and could lead to a breach of policy. In other words, it’s not great. But what is it?

    Authorship should not be offered purely because someone:

    • holds a position of authority
    • facilitated acquiring funding/resources/materials
    • provided routine tech support/advice but no other input to the research project

  • Authorship Declaration

    University policy states that anyone who qualifies as an author must be included or excluded with their written consent. Although there is no stipulation of how that record should be kept, it is serendipitous that the University has their very own Authorship Declaration Form.

    Although it’s not mandatory to use this particular form, it easily highlights the contributions of each author, automatically sends confirmation emails to all parties, and keeps a simple record that is stored on the University servers (meaning, you can’t lose it!). Everybody wins.

Any queries about this Spotlight can be directed to Research Integrity (researchintegrity@adelaide.edu.au) 

 

Responsible research is encouraged and guided by the research culture of the University of Adelaide.

This ranges from general research practices, managing and storing data, ensuring all research is ethical while understanding principles of intellectual property, and authorship. Detailed information on responsible research can be found in the Research Student Handbook. The following link will connect you to resources to ensure that you will need during your time as a research student.