Authorship of a manuscript should be discussed and agreed upon early in the writing process. Authorship represents professional and intellectual contributions to a written work and any listed author(s) should make substantive contributions to the manuscript.

Many publishers require authors to delineate roles and contributions to manuscript preparation.

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) provides the following guidance for authorship and contributorship - DOI: https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.3.3

COPE provides key information resources for authors, core policy guidance for editors, notes on the scope of submission guidelines, resources for managing pre- and post-publication authorship disputes, guidance for institutions to manage and support authorship integrity.

Key points

• Various disciplines have norms, guidelines, and rules governing authorship, to preserve the lineage of the creation and qualities of the work and its origins. 
• Authorship conveys significant privileges, responsibilities, and legal rights, and may have implications for career advancement.
• Publishers are accountable for making author guidelines transparent and appropriate for the medium and genre, and upholding and supporting author rights and licensing laws.
• Authors are accountable for following discipline-specific guidelines
• Two minimum requirements define authorship across all definitions – making a substantial contribution to the work and being accountable for the work and its published form.
• Acknowledgements may be used to denote contributions to the work that do not meet the criteria of Authorship
• Referring to recognised guidelines can help manage respectful negotiation of authorship, especially in relationships with power imbalance.
• All journals should have a basic policy on what they consider qualifies someone to be an author of a research paper; stated clearly in the journal’s information for authors, and confirmed in a statement of authorship provided before publication.
• Journals should have a process for handling authorship issues and disputes identified or raised during the review and publication process, and after publication.
• Institutions and organisations should be prepared to contribute to the investigations of authorship disputes.
• Referring to recognised guidelines can help manage respectful negotiation of authorship, especially in relationships with power imbalance.

How to handle authorship disputes: a guide for new researchers - DOI: https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2018.1.1

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) has identified four criteria for authorship:

• Significant involvement in study conception/design, data collection, or data analysis/interpretation;
• Involvement in drafting or revising manuscript;
• Approval of final version of manuscript for publication; and
• Responsibility for accuracy and integrity of all aspects of research.

All of the four criteria should be met for authorship. If only some of the above are met, acknowledgement of contributions is appropriate recognition..

Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors (ICMJE)

• Why Authorship Matters
• Who Is an Author?
• Non-Author Contributors

• The Ethics of Collaborative Authorship

Teixeira da Silva, J.A. (2011), The ethics of collaborative authorship. EMBO reports, 12: 889-893. https://doi.org/10.1038/embor.2011.161

• Responsible Authorship and Peer Review

This site was produced by the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching & Learning (CCNMTL) in collaboration with the Columbia University Office for Responsible Conduct of Research. This Responsible Authorship and Peer Review module in the Responsible Conduct of Research series was authored by Robin Eisner, Daniel Vasgird and Ellen Hyman-Browne.