Co-authorship in academic publications is a common practice. But is there any rule delineating ones contribution to a publication so that one can claim as a co-author? Is it 5%, 10% or are there no concrete rules on this matter?
In my opinion a co-author must contribute a vital part in the research. While there is no such rule exist, this is primarily based upon the association and understanding between first (main or corresponding) author and the proposed co-author.
Contribution in any form is a contribution. Its up to the senior author how much importance he feels for a particular contributor to be considered as a co-author or whether he just want to acknowledge the help in the acknowledgement section of the manuscript. If the work is done as a team, then all the team members are given a place as co-authors along with the principal investigator. If the work is done as an institutional collaboration, then it depends on the conditions on which the collaboration was done. Was co-authorship given priority or were paid services offered? So it all depends on the understanding between the contributor and the principal authors. I don't feel there is any rule which directs co-authorship and which can compel anybody to include names as co-authors. Yes, I can send you some links which will help you to have a deeper insight into this topic. These are the links to some of the previous discussions on RG itself where the subject matter concerning your question is discussed through different angles:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Co-authorship_in_a_research_paper_and_its_effect_on_impact_factor_or_the_overall_weightage_of_the_research_paper
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Who_should_be_among_co-authors_of_the_scientific_paper
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_the_ideal_number_of_co-authors_in_a_research_publication
Regards
Thank you Darasingh, Alok, and Vijay for your feedback. I had a look at the links suggested by Alok. It's really impressive discussions.
How about if we look at the issue from ethical issue? In academic career, one of the requirements for promotion is based on the number of publication. I saw some cases where faculty members be a "free" rider to a published paper or has no significant (or "vital" as highlighted by Darasingh) contribution to the paper, simply to get promoted to higher academic levels. How about assisting author in translation? Can the translator ethically claim for authorship even with main author permission? I know it's a bit hard to discuss ethical issues, but will appreciate any comments on that issue.
I feel this is not an ethical issue. It is more of a misunderstanding. If the main author has no issues, then there should be no problem in giving co-authorship to the translator also. Translation is also a work which needs to be given credit for and which needs ample amount of scientific and intellectual input too. Again I say here that it depends on whether the main author has agreed for it previously or not. Were the translation services provided as a voluntary act or was it previously decided to include the name of the translator as a co-author between the people involved. If voluntary services were given, then translator cannot force the main author for co-authorship. And if main author agreed previously and now not responding after getting the work done, then it is wrong on his part too. It is also sort of a collaboration which must have been done on some conditions. Just a meeting over a coffee and sorting the things would settle the matter. :)
Regards
Pure translation with no more than an editorial sentence added for clarity does not merit you being mentioned in the author line. You should be acknowledged in the acknowledgments section.
If you have contributed to the design of the research, data collection and analysis, manuscript drafting, and final approval then you should be in the author line.
I totally agree with Ian, because the co-author has a big role in the work done in the published research paper.
It is not question for discussion at all, there are strict guidelines for authorship!
for example:
1).Nature - Authorship policies: We are clarifying the duties of lead authors and making author-contribution statements mandatory http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v458/n7242/full/4581078a.html.
2).Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals:
Ethical Considerations in the Conduct and Reporting of Research:
Authorship and Contributorship Byline Authors http://www.icmje.org/ethical_1author.html
3). The Guidelines for the Conduct of Research set forth the general principles
governing the conduct of good science as practiced in the Intramural Research Programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
@Marina: Thank you for the Medical examples. Researchers working in the field of Economics and Marketing and other fields could do well if they simply adopted the clear standards from the medical fraternity.
Dear All,
Here you can get some more information on this subject: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Who_should_be_among_co-authors_of_the_scientific_paper
Dear All,
there are some specific rules to be defined author of a scientific work.
We just wrote an Editorial about authorship problem (wth particular regard to Nuclear Medicine and young researchers). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261436826_Authorship_problems_in_scientific_literature_and_in_nuclear_medicine_the_point_of_view_of_the_young_researcher?ev=prf_pub
Article Authorship problems in scientific literature and in nuclear ...
Even if co-author reviews the paper nicely and puts his inputs for its acceptance - he can be a part of authorship in a team spirit
A contribution is after all contribution, be it in any form. It depends on the other authors how they take it for which team spirit is important.