#91 Authorship in Science

Hey friends,

Three weeks ago, I was discussing with a Master student about a paper she was preparing for a conference.

The conference organizers provided a word template to use.
Then she had questions about the authorship order.

She did the experimentation, the analyses, wrote the first draft, managing the communication with the 2 other authors and was about to submit it to the conference.

It was her first scientific paper.

The other authors were more experienced.

But now she was not sure how to handle the authors order (I’m not talking about fields where the order is traditionally alphabetical like in Mathematics or Economics)

In research, credit is currency.
Some details are more important than what they look like.

Many masters students or phd candidates have faced an authorship dispute.

On paper, the rules are clear.

According to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, authorship means:

• meaningful contribution to the work
• involvement in writing or revising
• approval of the final version
• responsibility for the content

This sounds quite simple. But in practice, it can get unclear or messy
I’ve seen senior researchers get authorship for minor input.
And junior researchers, who did most of the work, placed in the middle of the authors list

Or even left out completely, their supervisors taking the full credit!

In many fields, the authorship order is a signal
Each position tells something about the contribution of each author
And people/research managers/evaluators pay attention to it.

This is usually the person who did most of the work.

Data. Analysis. Writing the first draft.
This position can shape your early career.
If you led the project, this matters.
It’s often used as an indicator of research innovation and leadership.

Still valuable, but visibility drops quickly. After the third or fourth name, most readers stop paying attention

Usually the senior researcher or what call Principal Investigator.
This signals direction.
In many cases, this position carries as much weight as first author. And the last authorship is often used as an indicator of seniority.

The person who handles communication with the journal.
This role also signals ownership, communication management and responsibility. Can be the first or last author.

Many people simply don’t know and learn this the hard way. Even with guidelines, authorship is often unclear. People assume and avoid the conversation. They wait until the paper is done. And that’s when problem may start. Because by then, expectations are already set

One useful tool is the CRediT taxonomy.

It breaks research into clear roles, such as:

• conceptualization
• data collection
• code writing
• analysis
• writing
• supervision

Instead of guessing who did what, you define it. Each author is linked to specific contributions. This doesn’t replace authorship rules. But it makes things clearer. And clarity reduces conflict

What you should NEVER do:

- Adding someone who didn’t contribute
- Leaving out someone who did
- Giving authorship based on status, not work
- Keeping roles vague to avoid tough conversations

Here are a few simple rules that make a big difference.

Don’t wait until the paper is written. Discuss authorship at the start of the project.
Who will do what?

Agree on roles. Document them. Even a simple shared note/email helps.

As the project evolves, keep a record. Who did what?
Update it regularly.

Projects change. People contribute more or less.
Adjust authorship if needed.

Different journals have different requirements.
Check them early.

Not everyone needs to be an author.
But contributions should still be recognized.

Your name on a paper is more than a line with your affiliation.
It’s your work, contribution and reputation
And in academia, that matters a lot.

Looking back to the master student I spoke to, she put her name as first author, the PI as the last author, and the other author as the second one. And all good!

So if you’re starting a new project, ask yourself:

• Who is doing what?
• Who will be first author?
• Who will be last?
• Who is corresponding?

That’s all for this week.

Let me know what you think.
Have you faced some issues related to authorship?
While I cannot respond to everyone, I read every response

See you next Sunday,
Jamal