Three principles - transparency, credit, and accountability – should form the foundation for "responsible authorship", argues a working group comprising scholars, scientists and journal editors. In an article published March 10 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the group, led by PLOS' Chief Scientific Officer Veronique Kiermer, states that contributions worthy of authorship should be determined by who has accountability for the research, and that all who claim the credit implied by authorship must assume that accountability.
Who takes credit and assumes accountability for published scientific scholarship are critical issues – for individual careers, for research institutions, for the scientific community and, importantly, for the trustworthiness of science itself. However, the authors of this article report wide variation in how authorship guidelines are formulated and applied. At the time of their review in 2024, they found that just 42% of the top-tier (R1) research institutions explicitly associate authorship credit with accountability, and an examination of journal authorship guidelines also found "considerable variability" in their formulation.
To protect the integrity of scientific publications, the article authors seek to center norms of responsible authorship by proposing a set of authorship recommendations. The multidisciplinary team of scholars, scientists, and journal editors, write:
"A responsible authorship culture requires a principle-based reflection by research teams on what it means to be an author with support and encouragement from research institutions. Accordingly, we propose three interconnected principles that form the foundation for responsible authorship: transparency, credit, and accountability."
They recommend:
(1) that authorship decisions be anchored in "transparency, credit, and accountability"
(2) establishment of a fair and robust process for conversations about authorship, including author order
(3) transparent description of contributions.
The principles are designed to address issues inherent in today's conflicts over authorship, including several harmful practices identified by a 2017 National Academies report : gift or honorific authorship, ghost authorship, and coercive authorship.
The authors call on all who influence incentives and oversight in science – including research institutions, journals, and scholarly societies – to join in the effort to create "a responsible authorship culture," which is "the cornerstone of a responsible research enterprise."
The article is a byproduct of a committee of the Strategic Council of the National Academy of Sciences, led by Kiermer of PLOS. The working group behind the article included researchers at different career stages, journal editors, research institutions' representatives and authorship scholars. Co-authors include Magdalena Skipper, editor in chief of the journal Nature; Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, editor in chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association and JAMA Network; and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Many of the authors are also members of a working group convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Strategic Council for Research Excellence, Integrity, and Trust; however, the paper is neither an official publication of the National Academies nor of the Strategic Council.
PLOS' Chief Scientific Officer Veronique Kiermer states: "PLOS has long advocated for responsible authorship practices with appropriate credit and accountability, and transparency around contributions. The principles for which we advocate in this article seek to build a culture of responsible authorship, that is important not only for journals but for the whole research ecosystem."
Kiermer adds: "PLOS is also committed to recognize and ensure accountability for a variety of key contributions to the research enterprise, such as data and code[1], and authorship practices play an important role. As research practices continue to evolve, a principle-based approach, such as the one we advocate here, will stand the test of time."
"Creating a responsible authorship culture in science: Anchoring authorship practices in principles of transparency, credit, and accountability" published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on March 10.
[1] See also: https://plos.org/redefining-publishing
This press release was adapted from text kindly provided by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
