Our University has approved a new Authorship, Contribution and Publishing Policy.
The policy aims to clarify the roles and responsibilities of research contributors to ensure everybody involved in the authorship and publishing process is appropriately credited. It also includes sections on corrections to the scholarly record and publishing ethics.
The policy and associated guidance was developed as part of our University’s commitment to the Concordat to Support Research Integrity, as well as our participation in the Technician Commitment, and promoting an equitable and inclusive culture among our academic community.
Written jointly by the Open Research and Publication Practice team and the Research Integrity and Governance (RIG) team, the academic community was widely consulted on the policy, including researchers, research technicians, software engineers and professional services staff. The policy was approved by the Research Integrity and Governance Committee, University Executive Board and University Senate.
Professor Mark Spearing, Vice-President (Research and Enterprise) who has overall responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity, said:
“Publication is a key step in ensuring that our research has the greatest possible impact in academia and wider society. It is vital that those who have contributed to the research are appropriately included as authors or via acknowledgements.
“At its heart, this policy articulates the importance of having regular open discussions on these matters, starting as early as possible in a project. It is also important that we consciously consider the role of technicians, software engineers and others who might not traditionally have been considered as authors, but who are now making important intellectual contributions that strengthen our outputs.”
The Library, jointly with the Centre for Higher Education Practice, recently ran a ‘Credit Where Credit is Due’ symposium, which introduced the new policy and explored other issues associated with research credit.
For help and advice on authorship-related issues, contact the University Library at [email protected] or the RIG team at [email protected]
