The Road Ahead: ALA Publishing Committee Recommends CRediT as a Best Practice

Abstract

Contributions to scholarly work are mostly recognized by means of assigning authorship credit, which can later be used in academic evaluations and for career progression. Sociologists of science describe authorship as a commodity that is bartered among scholarly contributors as well as with resources such as research samples. On the flip side, authorship also functions as a mechanism for holding contributors responsible for their work. Despite its significance as means of attributing credit and responsibilities, when beginning a collaboration, researchers might feel uneasy about discussing authorship—specifically, who will be an author and in what order—or about openly communicating expectations regarding commitments and extent of contributions that ultimately determine authorship. These challenges are particularly more pronounced for junior researchers who are inexperienced in authorship negotiations and are at an inherent disadvantage in terms of power disparity with more senior researchers. Consequently, tensions and disagreements may arise and provide the impetus for discussions about authorship, but this is often too late and is more likely to be emotionally charged.