Authorship and Authorship Disputes
Who can be an author?
Contributors who have made a significant intellectual or scholarly contribution to a research output qualify for authorship. A significant intellectual or scholarly contribution must include sole or shared responsibility for one, and should include a combination of two or more, of the following:
- conception and design of the research project or output
- acquisition of research data where the acquisition has required significant intellectual judgement, planning, design, or input
- contribution of significant knowledge, where justified, including any Indigenous knowledge
- analysis or interpretation of research data
- drafting significant parts of the research output or critically revising it to contribute to its interpretation.
UNSW researchers must abide by UNSW’s minimum criteria for authorship and should ensure that they also meet any stricter requirements that are applied by relevant journals or disciplinary norms. UNSW researchers must also ensure that they include appropriate institutional affiliations covering where they were employed when completing the work, the owner of the intellectual property rights, the institution that provided them with resources.
Authorship practices vary between discipline. For example, some disciplines may associate different positions on the author list with varying levels or types of contribution while others might not assign meaning to authorship order. Researchers should be aware of their disciplinary norms.
What is an authorship dispute?
An authorship dispute arises when contributors disagree about who should be included as an author, the order in which they are listed, the content of the research output, who should be acknowledged or where the research output should be submitted or published.
If a draft manuscript or research output is subject to an authorship dispute, it cannot be published until the dispute is resolved.
How can I prevent a dispute?
Discussing authorship early in a project, as the project evolves and documenting these discussions provides the best chance of preventing an authorship dispute. It is also that all contributors understand the authorship criteria and norms that apply at UNSW and in their discipline.
Watch the first part of the video below in which Professor Paul Munroe, a former Research Integrity Advisor with over 5 years of experience, shares his tips on preventing a dispute from arising.
I’m a student or early career researcher. What should I do?
Students and early career researchers may face particular challenges in navigating authorship due to their relatively junior position and unbalanced power relations. Watch the video below to see the perspectives of three early career researchers on authorship and demonstrated examples for how to approach authorship conversations.
How are authorship disputes resolved?
Authorship disputes are resolved in a three-stage process:
Stage 1: Informal resolution. During this stage, researchers attempt to resolve the dispute informally.
Stage 2: Mediation by Head of School (or nominee). If the researchers are unable to resolve the dispute informally, the dispute will be mediated by the relevant Head(s) of School or nominee.
Stage 3: Determination by Research Integrity Advisor. If mediation is unsuccessful, the dispute will be determined by the relevant Research Integrity Advisor(s), Dean(s) or the Conduct and Integrity Office.
I have been asked to help resolve a dispute. What should I do?
If you have been asked to help resolve a dispute at Stage 2 or Stage 3, there are resources available to support you.
Stage 2 mediators can view a webinar recording on SharePoint for information about the process and how to approach mediation. The second part of the video (from 4:16) with Professor Paul Munroe also discusses his experience mediating disputes.
Both Stage 2 mediators and Stage 3 decision-makers can access correspondence templates on the Conduct and Integrity Office and consult CIO for advice by emailing research.integrity@unsw.edu.au.
I need more information
To view key policies, including the UNSW Research Code of Conduct, the Research Authorship, Publication and Dissemination Policy and the Research Authorship and Publication Dispute Management Procedure, visit UNSW’s policy website.
All researchers who are current UNSW staff or students can also contact a Research Integrity Advisor for advice or support.
Current students can also contact Arc Legal & Advocacy for free, independent and confidential advice.
The Conduct and Integrity Office can also arrange a presentation for your team, unit, School or Department on authorship or other research integrity topics. To request a seminar or workshop, simply contact us.