Co-authored research papers are becoming increasingly popular in the scientific community. This approach not only optimises the research process, but also helps to make it more comprehensive. However, it is worth considering that in order to achieve success, it is necessary to competently distribute the responsibilities between the authors. How to do it? Today we will discuss how to effectively organise work in the process of co-authorship to avoid delays and conflicts.
Types of co-authorship
There are two main types of co-authorship: divided and undivided. The main difference is the type of responsibility that scientists have for the results presented.
Divided co-authorship – is a type of scientific co-authorship in which the authors of the article are responsible only for the part of the paper written by them. In this case, the authors have the right, if necessary, to withdraw their part of the publication and use it separately.
Undivided co-authorship – is a type of co-authorship in which the finished scientific work is perceived as a whole product and all authors of the article are responsible for it without the possibility to use their part separately.
Co-authorship team structure: who makes up the research team?
The research team that works on writing a research paper consists of the first author, corresponding author, co-authors and assistants. Each of these positions has its own characteristics.
1. First author
The first author is the researcher who has made the greatest contribution to the research. One of the advantages of this role is that the first author's name will be mentioned in every citation of the paper, regardless of the number of authors or citation style.
However, it is worth noting that the role of the first author is not dependent on the prestige, experience or academic degree of the researcher, but is determined by their actual responsibilities in the process of the work.
The first author should:
- make a significant intellectual contribution to the research;
- collect and analyse data by conducting experiments, surveys and researching the scientific literature;
- participate in the development of the research design;
- participate in editing the text of a research paper;
- analyse the results of the research using tables, graphs and images.
Thus, the role of first author is given to those researchers who fulfil the above responsibilities.
2. Corresponding author
A corresponding author is a member of the research team who is responsible for communicating with the editorial office of the publication at all stages of the article's publication. This role includes not only responsibilities before the article is posted, but also afterwards. Therefore, the role of the corresponding author is considered as important as that of the first author.
Before publication, the corresponding author should:
- prepare the manuscript with the necessary documents for submission;
- liaise with the journal editorial board, adhere to deadlines and ensure that all requirements of the editorial board and reviewers are met;
- ensure the accuracy of authorship data by requesting co-authors to confirm their participation and consent to publication;
- obtain permissions to use author's materials and comply with the submission policy;
- clarify key aspects related to payment and the publication process, and ensure that the article is added to the repository (if required by journal policy).
After publication, the corresponding author should:
- forward to other co-authors questions from readers and prepare a collective response;
- handle data sharing requests if required by journal policy or scholarly work;
- represent other co-authors in matters related to copyright of the publication.
There are also instances where the roles of first author and corresponding author are fulfilled by a single researcher.
3. Co-authors
Co-authors are researchers who have made significant contributions to the research at various stages of the research. They are actively involved in preparing material for publication, conducting experiments or collecting data, as well as in shaping the research concept and analysing the findings. Co-authors not only provide critical comments and recommendations during the review of the paper, but also actively contribute to the development of the theoretical or practical part of the research.
In addition, they play an important role in selecting a journal for publication and approving all versions of a research paper. They are involved in deciding how to present the research results and are collectively responsible for the accuracy and quality of the scientific material.
4. Assistants
Assistants are researchers who do not yet have significant experience in writing research papers. In fact, they play a supporting role by providing necessary support to the research team.
Their responsibilities may include collecting and processing data, performing experiments, assisting in writing some parts of the paper, preparing graphs and tables, and compiling literature.
Although, assistants do not always become co-authors, their contribution is important for the successful completion of the research, and they can be mentioned in the acknowledgements. By the way, in some cases, if their contribution is significant, assistants can be included in the list of co-authors.
What are the responsibilities of the co-authorship process?
In order to assess the contribution of each member of the research team, it is necessary to prepare an application form that details all the roles of the participants. To do this, the role taxonomy from CRediT should be used. This system divides the roles of researchers in the co-authorship process into 14 main categories. The table below summarises these roles with a brief description.
| Responsibilities | Description |
|---|---|
| Conceptualization | Formulating or developing the ideas, goals, and objectives of the research. |
| Data Management | Organizing and managing research data, creating metadata, cleaning, and maintaining data. |
| Formal Analysis | Applying statistical, mathematical, and computational methods for data analysis. |
| Funding Acquisition | Securing financial support for the project. |
| Investigation | Conducting research, experiments, and data collection. |
| Methodology | Developing research methods, creating models. |
| Project Management | Responsibility for coordinating and implementing the research work. |
| Resources | Providing research materials, laboratory samples, computing resources, and other analytical tools. |
| Software | Developing, designing, and testing software, creating and implementing code. |
| Leadership | Responsibility for planning and organizing research activities. |
| Verification | Evaluating and verifying the progress of the research and its results. |
| Visualization | Preparing and presenting the research results for publication. |
| Writing – Initial Draft | Preparing and creating the initial draft of the work. |
| Writing – Review and Editing | Preparing, creating, and presenting the work, including reviewing and editing before and after publication. |
In order to write and successfully publish a co-authored scientific article, it is necessary to properly approach the distribution of roles. In this way, it is possible to optimise the work and conduct a comprehensive study that will contribute to the development of a particular scientific discipline.
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