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| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: "Co-authorship Attribution Guidelines" |
| 3 | +author: "Dennis Yi Tenen" |
| 4 | +date: "November 15th, 2025" |
| 5 | +documentclass: assets/texMemo |
| 6 | +mainfont: "fbb" |
| 7 | +layout: memo |
| 8 | +published: true |
| 9 | +header-includes: | |
| 10 | + \usepackage{graphicx} |
| 11 | + \memoto{Recipient Name} |
| 12 | + \memofrom{Dennis Yi Tenen} |
| 13 | + \memosubject{Note 2: Co-authorship Attribution Guidelines} |
| 14 | + \memodate{\today} |
| 15 | + \memologo{\includegraphics[width=0.3\textwidth]{assets/cunil-logo.png}} |
| 16 | +--- |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +The following articulates a set of guidelines for determining author order, assigning roles, |
| 20 | +setting clear expectations, and crediting fairly in a varied collaborative environment. |
| 21 | +These guidelines were written (a) in consultation with several similar labs, (b) in review of |
| 22 | +relevant literature<sup>1-4</sup>, and (c) in light of existing standards<sup>5-6</sup>. |
| 23 | + |
| 24 | +It is important to discuss authorship attribution early and throughout the project.<sup>5</sup> |
| 25 | +Each repository will generally contain a `CRedIT.md` file, capturing a snapshot of that |
| 26 | +conversation. Though assigned formally, we expect roles to occasionally change and evolve |
| 27 | +throughout a project's lifecycle. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +We recommend for the contents of the CRedIT.md log to be narrativized concisely inclusion in |
| 30 | +the "attribution footnote," at the time of the publication. |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +## First, Second, Middle, Last (FSML) Author Emphasis Model |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +*First*, *Second*, *Middle*, and *Last* authors play distinct but dynamic roles as part of a |
| 35 | +research team. In case of multiples, "bin" to role, but keep it reasonable: One first, second, |
| 36 | +and last author is always preferable for clarity. |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +***First author/s*** tend to do the most work as well as being responsible, especially for |
| 39 | +project conceptualization and methodology. |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +***Second author/s*** tend to make deep contributions in several specific areas of |
| 42 | +responsibility. |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +***Middle author/s*** usually play significant supporting roles. |
| 45 | + |
| 46 | +***Last author/s*** usually involve more senior scholars, who write, supervise, fund, |
| 47 | +administrate, and place, contributing meaningfully also to selected areas of deep expertise. |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +Ad-hoc contributions not rising to the level of authorship can be credited in the attribution |
| 50 | +footnote. |
| 51 | + |
| 52 | +## Considerations |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +- Facilitate clear ownership of specific tasks. |
| 55 | +- The lab's GitHub project template includes a CREDIT file that should be updated regularly. |
| 56 | +- Using logged tools such as as GitHub and Google Docs helps keep the contributions transparent. |
| 57 | +Try to always capture your offline work in the form of memos or logs committed to the project's |
| 58 | +GitHub repository. |
| 59 | +- Late projects may be reassigned, under consultation between lab faculty advisors. |
| 60 | +- An internal review should generally precede journal or conference submission. |
| 61 | +- Be open and forthright about your expectations. Do not hesitate to bring up any issues that |
| 62 | +may arise with the lab's faculty advisors. |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | +## CRedIT |
| 65 | + |
| 66 | +> CRediT is a high-level taxonomy, including 14 roles, that can be used to represent the roles |
| 67 | +typically played by contributors to scientific scholarly output. The roles describe each |
| 68 | +contributor’s specific contribution to the scholarly output.<sup>5</sup> |
| 69 | + |
| 70 | +The [Training Data Lab][002] at Leiden University, Netherlands, provides a concise graphical |
| 71 | +representation of the labels as follows: |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +| **Badge** | **Role** | **Definition** |
| 74 | +|---|---|---| |
| 75 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/conceptualization.png" align="center" width="60" />](conceptualization.png) | Conceptualization | Ideas, formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims. | |
| 76 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/data_curation.png" align="center" width="60" />](data_curation.png) | Data curation | Produce metadata, scrub data and maintain research data for initial use and later re-use. | |
| 77 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/formal_analysis.png" align="center" width="60" />](formal_analysis.png) | Formal analysis | Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyze data. | |
| 78 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/funding_acquisition.png" align="center" width="60" />](funding_acquisition.png) | Funding acquisition | Acquisition of the financial support for the project leading to this publication. | |
| 79 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/investigation.png" align="center" width="60" />](investigation.png) | Investigation | Conducting a research and investigation process, specifically performing the data collection. | |
| 80 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/methodology.png" align="center" width="60" />](methodology.png) | Methodology | Development or design of methodology; creation of models. | |
| 81 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/project_administration.png" align="center" width="60" />](project_administration.png) | Project administration | Management and coordination responsibility for the research activity planning and execution. | |
| 82 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/resources.png" align="center" width="60" />](resources.png) | Resources | Provision of study materials, instrumentation, computing resources, or other analysis tools. | |
| 83 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/computation.png" align="center" width="60" />](computation.png) | Software | Programming, software development; designing computer programs; implementation of the computer code and supporting algorithms. | |
| 84 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/supervision.png" align="center" width="60" />](supervision.png) | Supervision | Oversight for the research activity planning and execution, including mentorship external to the core team. | |
| 85 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/testing.png" align="center" width="60" />](testing.png) | Validation | Replication of results and other research outputs. | |
| 86 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/data_visualization.png" align="center" width="60" />](data_visualization.png) | Visualization | Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically data presentation. | |
| 87 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/writing_initial_draft.png" align="center" width="60" />](writing_initial_draft.png) | Writing – original draft | Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically writing the initial draft. | |
| 88 | +| [<img src="https://github.com/cu-nil/chnotes/blob/master/images/badges/writing_review.png" align="center" width="60" />](writing_review.png) | Writing – review and editing | Critical review, commentary or revision – including pre- or post-publication stages. | |
| 89 | + |
| 90 | +[001]: https://web.archive.org/web/20250503023409/https://credit.niso.org/ |
| 91 | +[002]: https://web.archive.org/save/https://training-datalab.com/en/credit/ |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +## Documents Consulted |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +1. American Historical Association (AHA). "Collaboration in Historical Scholarship." |
| 96 | +Accessed May 3, 2025. [https://www.historians.org/resource/collaboration/][114] |
| 97 | + |
| 98 | +2. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). 2023. "Defining the |
| 99 | +Role of Authors and Contributors" the *Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, |
| 100 | +Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals*. Updated May 2023. |
| 101 | +[https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/][113]. |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +3. Fine, Mark A., and Lawrence A. Kurdek. “[Reflections on Determining Authorship Credit and |
| 104 | +Authorship Order on Faculty-Student Collaborations.][111]” *American Psychologist* 48, no. 11 (1993): |
| 105 | +1141–47. |
| 106 | + |
| 107 | +4. Frandsen, Tove Faber, and Jeppe Nicolaisen. “[What Is in a Name? Credit Assignment Practices |
| 108 | +in Different Disciplines][112].” Journal of Informetrics 4, no. 4 (October 1, 2010): 608–17. |
| 109 | + |
| 110 | +5. National Information Standards Organization (NISO). "Implementing CRediT." Accessed May 3, 2025. [https://credit.niso.org/implementing-credit/][115]. |
| 111 | + |
| 112 | +6. Framework for Open and Reproducible Research Training. |
| 113 | +"First-last-author-emphasis Norm (FLAE)." *FORRT Glossary*, 3 Nov. 2021, |
| 114 | +https://forrt.org/glossary/vbeta/first-last-author-emphasis-norm-fla/. |
| 115 | + |
| 116 | +[111]: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/1994-11404-001.html |
| 117 | +[112]: https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/science/article/pii/S1751157710000647?via%3Dihub |
| 118 | +[113]: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html |
| 119 | +[114]: https://www.historians.org/resource/collaboration/ |
| 120 | +[115]: https://credit.niso.org/implementing-credit/ |
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