Authorship: Tips for Responsible Publication
Written by Michelle Panulla, ORP

It is well-known that authorship is a fundamental part of an academic career. Whether you specialize in biochemistry, music education or psychology, you are expected to conduct ongoing research and publish your findings regularly. Such a black and white issue may not seem to contain ethical challenges at first glance, but the gray areas involved can be tricky to navigate. A little up-front preparation can save a lot of hand-wringing later.

Plagiarism: It's not Just for Students Anymore

Plagiarism is perhaps the most prevalent problem in authorship. So prevalent that private industry Web sites that automatically check for plagiarism, such as Turnitin.com, are thriving. But the problem of plagiarism goes beyond students copying papers. Across the span of an academic career, a researcher may be tempted to plagiarize, or may unintentionally plagiarize. (Unintentional plagiarism can be avoided by taking careful notes and citing everything while doing research.) Since 2002, Penn State has confirmed three cases of research misconduct for plagiarism. The researchers in question had one striking similarity: all were tenured faculty members. ¹

Though the reasons given for plagiarizing work vary, a number of steps can be taken to avoid the temptation.

1. Make a Plan – Preparing for and carefully planning your research, both for the long run and for individual projects, considerably aids in having the appropriate time and resources available when they are needed.
2. Make a Difference – When conducting peer reviews for other researchers, put yourself in a different mindset before you begin. Simply changing settings (going to the library to read instead of the office, for instance) can help. If all reviewing is done in alternate locations, unconscious (or intentional) blending of others' work with your own may be reduced.
3. Make a Joke – Crunch time is inevitable during many projects. Instead of allowing stress to play the devil on your shoulder, step back and try to keep it all in perspective. Your research is tremendously important, but so is your sense of humor. If you can take a minute to "crack a joke" about being under pressure, the pressure loses its power over you.

Honorary Authorship: The Gift that Keeps on Taking

Should the lab director be automatically added to all publications for the research being done in that lab? Some people may say yes, but the answer is actually no. According to the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), an author "includes anyone who: was intimately involved in the conception and design of the research, assumed responsibility for data collection and interpretation, participated in drafting the publication, and approved the final version of the publication." ² Providing space, funding or other resources does not constitute authorship. Though the wording varies, Penn State and several federal funding agencies have similar language in their policies and regulations. ³

To avoid allowing honorary authorship to become an issue:

1. Make Conversation – Always discuss authorship up front with colleagues. Make sure everyone is on the same page. A good time to do this would be when submitting an application to the ORP for approval, when asked about the roles and contributions of research personnel to the study, when preparing a funding application and identifying key contributors, or when having an initial team meeting.
2. Make a Point – If the lab director insists on honorary authorship, point out the policies in place.
3. Make a Choice – If policies have been discussed and there is still a disagreement about authorship, remember that the PI makes the final decision. You either need to choose to follow that decision or choose to leave the project.

Ghost Authorship: Hidden Authors, Hidden Motivations?

Just as the policies mentioned previously apply to honorary authorship, they apply equally to ghost authorship. Sometimes ghost authorship occurs when a researcher wishes to be removed from a publication, such as when he or she disagrees with the interpretation of results. However, ghost authorship can also be present when funding sources insist on "helping" or "editing" the publication. If the publication is co-written by an employee of the funding source, that author must be acknowledged. Lack of acknowledgement indicates a desire to deceive the public about possible conflicts of interest.

Sometimes an author who is not directly involved in the research is quite helpful, such as when a professional writer is hired to help with the publication. The European Medical Writers Association has created guidelines for their members on this issue in order to avoid the problems associated with ghost authorship. ⁴ These guidelines are in place to aid in transparency in authorship.

Follow these tips to exorcise those ghosts:

1. Make an Argument – If there is disagreement on the interpretation of findings, make a case for your interpretation – and open yourself to the other side of the argument. The disparity may simply be caused by not considering all the possibilities and keeping a narrow viewpoint.
2. Make an Inquiry – Some funding sources may insist on editing your publication. Find out in advance if they require any such editing before beginning research. Avoid research funding with strings attached.
3. Make it Clear – If you choose to employ a professional writer, make sure that person is listed as an author or in the acknowledgements section of the manuscript, and clearly explain his or her role. This up-front explanation will reduce the appearance of conflict of interest.

Authorship Order: Keeping the Drama on Television

Things may be chugging along swimmingly with your research, but when it comes time to publish, the lab becomes a soap opera set. Authorship order can be a tricky circumstance. Who's the senior author? Who is last? Sometimes team members listed under acknowledgements should actually be authors, and vice versa. Sometimes responsibilities shift.

As with any relationship, following a few key points can keep everything on track:

1. Make an Agreement – Talk with your colleagues at the beginning of the project and determine the authorship role each person is playing. Making an initial plan, before the work begins, will help prevent any later confusion.
2. Make a Series of Milestones – At different points in the project, talk with the team and reevaluate the authorship roles. It's possible for responsibilities to shift during a project – or for a seemingly lesser member to come up with a new methodology that should increase his or her stature on the project.
3. Make a Fair Final Decision – If you are the PI on the team, you are the final word on authorship. As long as everybody is clear before the work begins, you shouldn't have a problem with squabbling when it comes time to publish. However, if there are issues, you need to listen to arguments and make a fair decision.

Fragmented Publishing: Avoiding Salami Publication

Publish or perish. It's a common phrase in academia. Sometimes the pressure to fill up a CV with a multiplicity of publications overrides ethics and leads to fragmented publication, or splitting research into several publications when it would be more accurately represented in a single publication. Fragmented publishing wastes resources by taking up space in journals, and can mislead the public into thinking more research has been done on a given topic than the actual amount. The need to publish is great, but the need to publish with integrity is greater. So how do you avoid the temptation to separate your research into as many publishable parts as possible?

1. Make Time – Allowing yourself the appropriate time with your research means you won't be struggling with last-minute publication needs. Don't wait until just before a tenure decision to figure out how many publications you want on your CV. Remember that a strong, quality publication in a reputable journal reaps greater rewards than multiple lesser publications.
2. Make Yourself Flexible – If you don't reach your personal publication goals, don't take it as a personal failure. It's difficult to gauge how your research will progress, and sometimes experiments take longer than expected. Give yourself some flexibility to allow for a smaller number of publications.
3. Make Yourself Accountable – Authoring publications isn't easy, but it is the chosen path for researchers. Knowing the pitfalls and how to deal with them ahead of time will help you stay accountable for your work. Remember: authorship isn't just about credit, it is also about responsibility. Nobody can hold you accountable better than yourself.

References:

1. Stickler, Michelle, The Plagiarism Problem, ORP Newsletter Issue 6, 2005, http://www.research.psu.edu/orp/outreach/publications/newsletter/issue6/story2.asp
2. Steneck, Nicholas H.; Zinn, David, ORI Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research, Health and Human Services Dept., Office of Research Integrity, 2004.
3. The Pennsylvania State University, Policy RA13 "Coauthorship of Scholarly Reports, Papers and Publications", http://guru.psu.edu/policies/RA13.html
4. Jacobs, Adam, The involvement of professional medical writers in medical publications: results of a Delphi study, Current Medical Research and Opinion, Volume 21, Number 2, February 2005.