Author responsibilities

The purpose of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (the Code) is to guide institutions and researchers in responsible research practices. This Code promotes integrity in research for researchers and has broad relevance across all research disciplines.

Determining the order of authors on a scholarly publication can be problematic, especially among interdisciplinary groups. However, there are existing protocols that determine who should be credited as an author on a publication. Authorder® is a downloadable tool to allocate author order, and is based on internationally accepted protocols.

The Vancouver Protocol states that, in order to be credited as an author, each and every author on a publication needs to have been involved in all of the following three stages:

Conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data
Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content
Final approval of the version to be published.

The Protocol was developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Their latest advice on authorship and contributorship is here.

The Library provides further information on Compliance with publishing codes and ethics on the Writing and publishing page.

The UQ Policy and Procedures Library has an Authorship policy 4.20.04. This policy describes the underlying principles of determining authorship and is based on guidelines in the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.

Improper conduct of research is reported in the blog retractionwatch.wordpress.com

Infamous Australian cases of scientific misconduct:

During 1981 Michael Briggs, professor of endocrinology at Deakin University, Geelong, forged data on oral contraceptives. His deception caused concern over the safety of up to two million women in Britain and ten million worldwide. Details: Martin, B. (1989) Fraud and Australian Academics. Thought & Action, 5(2), 95-102.
In 1988 William McBride, director of Foundation 41 in Sydney, NSW forged data on the action of hyoscine in fetal rabbits. Details: Ragg, M. William McBride's penalty. The Lancet, 2(8867), 361-362.

Tip

When collaborating with other authors it is critical to clarify author roles and responsibilities. Journals usually state requirements for authorship. See the PLOS Author Status example.