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Researchers' Perceptions of Ethical Authorship Distribution in Collaborative Research Teams.
Elise Smith1, Bryn Williams-Jones2, Zubin Master3
1National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA. elise.smith@nih.gov.
Science and Engineering Ethics
|June 6, 2019
Summary
Authorship disputes in research teams can negatively impact well-being and scientific integrity. Effective communication and ethical guidelines are crucial for fair author distribution and preventing conflicts.
Area of Science:
- Scientific publishing
- Research ethics
- Collaborative research
Background:
- Authorship is a key metric for research productivity and career advancement.
- Understanding authorship practices in collaborative teams is essential for scientific integrity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze researchers' comments on fair authorship distribution in collaborative journal articles.
- To identify themes related to authorship disagreements and their impact.
Main Methods:
- Survey of authors on collaborative journal articles (2011-2015).
- Analysis of 1408 open-ended comments on authorship distribution.
- Thematic categorization of comments into disagreements, questionable behavior, external influences, and values.
Main Results:
- Authorship discussions can be contentious, leading to negative impacts on well-being and productivity.
- Unethical conduct, including bullying and discrimination, can arise from favoritism and poor mentorship.
- Despite promoting values like fairness, success and rank often override ethical decision-making.
Conclusions:
- Fair authorship distribution is complex and can lead to significant conflict.
- Developing training tools is necessary to address authorship disagreements and promote ethical practices.
- Addressing authorship issues is vital for maintaining research integrity and researcher well-being.
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