• Section 1 - Introduction/Background
• Section 2 - Scope/Purpose
• Section 3 - Authorship Management
• Establish an authorship agreement
• Maintain the authorship agreement
• Submission for publication
• Exceptions
• Section 4 - Acknowledgement of Contributions other than Authorship
• Section 5 - Disclosure for use of Generative Artificial Intelliegence (gen-AI)
• Section 6 - Author Affiliations
• Section 7 - Authorship Disputes
• Section 8 - Data Management
• Section 9 - Recordkeeping
• Section 11 - Definitions

Section 1 - Introduction/Background

(1) This Procedure details the processes and responsibilities associated with the designation of authorship and/or contributorship on publications emerging from research conducted at the University of Wollongong (“the University”).

(2) This Procedure enacts the authorship guidelines as outlined in the  Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2018 (“the Code”) and the Authorship Policy.

(3) This Procedure is to be read in conjunction with the Authorship Policy and the Authorship Dispute Procedure.

Section 2 - Scope/Purpose

(4) This Procedure applies to:

1. the authorship and acknowledgments of all research and other academic outputs including journal articles, books, reports, chapters and conference papers and non-traditional outputs. Non-traditional outputs include, but are not limited to, web-based publications and applications, including professional blogs, and any form of research output.
2. the attribution of authorship and acknowledgments in other documents related to research, such as research proposals, grant applications, reports for funding agencies, tenders, patents and patent applications.
3. all researchers including academic, adjunct and professional staff members, HDR candidates, students, volunteers, Visiting Fellows and any other person(s) involved in joint publications with researchers at the University.
4. in the event that authors are not employed by the same institution, it is expected that the policy and procedure of the institution of the Corresponding Author will prevail.
5. where there is a contractual arrangement in place which outlines an authorship agreement, it must be informed by this procedure. Any authorship agreement within a contractual arrangement will supersede this procedure.
6. in accordance with the NHMRC Keeping Research on Track II, research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants and communities should include agreement about authorship, acknowledgment, copyright, dissemination, and dispute resolution about how a publication is written. Any such agreement made with community will supersede this procedure.
7. disputes, concerns or complaints relating to the attribution of authorship and/or acknowledgments must be resolved according to the University Authorship Dispute Resolution Procedure.
8. other matters may arise during the authorship management process which are not covered by the University Authorship Dispute Resolution Procedure. These matters should be addressed by the relevant complaints policy document.

Section 3 - Authorship Management

(5) Responsible authorship practices result in an honest reflection of the contribution to the research output with authorship assigned fairly and a transparent authorship agreement in place. Best practice authorship management involves early establishment of a written agreement with variations documented and managed throughout the project lifecycle.

Establish an authorship agreement

(6) Authorship, authorship order and acknowledgements must be discussed and agreed at the initial stage of the project by all collaborating researchers.

(7) The Corresponding Author shall obtain permission from listed contributors before including them in research outputs, since acknowledgement may imply a contributor’s endorsement of the research output.

(8) The Authorship and Acknowledgement Agreement – Project Plan and/or Authorship and Acknowledgement Agreement – Individual Research Output forms should be used to document decisions about authorship and acknowledgements.

(9) Authorship may only be attributed to persons who meet the Authorship Criteria.

(10) The Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) categories as should be used to support discussions about authorship and identify contributions that should be acknowledged.

(11) Research supervisors should collaborate with an HDR candidate to complete an Authorship and Acknowledgment Agreement form as part of the Confirmation of Candidature process and update the form throughout candidature as required, such as when each new publication or other research output is planned. 

(12) The authorship and contribution agreement should document:

1. who will be listed as authors;
2. what order will the authors be listed and establishment of a first author;
3. who will be the Corresponding Author. In the event there is a group of authors one author will be appointed as the Corresponding Author. The Corresponding Author is the single point of contact and responsible for the management of all communication with the publisher, internal and/or external parties. It is the responsibility of the Corresponding Author to maintain records of the authorship agreement. Where the Corresponding Author is not from the same institution as other listed authors, authors are encouraged to keep their own records;
4. the authorship order convention to be followed. It is recognised that authorship order will vary between the established written conventions of disciplines. The convention to be followed should be agreed upon during the initial discussions;
5. those that do not meet the authorship criteria but will be acknowledged;
6. when the authorship agreement is to be reviewed.

(13) Electronic records must be kept detailing all authorship discussions and agreements made.

Maintain the authorship agreement

(14) Decisions pertaining to authorship, authorship order and acknowledgments must be reviewed periodically and prior to submission for publication.

(15) Any changes to the initial authorship agreement must be documented by the Corresponding Author. The record should include the reason for the change and the agreement obtained from all listed authors.

Submission for publication

(16) All listed authors are accountable for the whole research output. An individual author is directly responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their contribution to the output. Authors should have confidence in the accuracy and integrity of the contributions of their co-authors.

(17) All listed authors must review and approve the research output prior to submission for publication.

(18) There must be final agreement on authorship and acknowledgments in writing from all authors prior to peer review, appearance on the public record and/or final submission to the publisher (e.g., if relative or anticipated contributions change).

1. The Corresponding Author will maintain a copy of these agreements.
2. The Authorship and Acknowledgement Agreement form should be completed to satisfy this requirement. An email(s), a transcript of an online discussion or other similar evidence of agreement can be a sufficient record where it clearly indicates agreement to the authorship list and order being submitted.

Exceptions

(19) In the event an author is deceased or cannot be contacted (despite all reasonable efforts to do so), the publication is able to proceed provided that all other authors have no grounds to believe this person would have raised any objection to their inclusion as an author.

(20) If an author declines to be listed as an author or is unwilling to be accountable for their contribution by being listed as an author, their contribution should generally not be included in the research output. If a person declines authorship or is unwilling to be accountable for their contribution, then all listed authors must have confidence in the integrity and accuracy of these contributions if they are included. Records must be kept of these decisions.

(21) Where a publication is a component of an HDR candidate’s thesis, the HDR candidate would typically be the first author for research output occurring from their thesis where the research is conducted by an individual candidate and where the candidate has made a significant intellectual or scholarly contribution as defined in the Authorship criteria. Variations to this premise must be approved by the Dean of Graduate Research and will be based on the Authorship criteria as defined in the Authorship Policy. Where there is more than one HDR candidate conducting the research there should be a discussion in the project planning stages for the research of the roles and authorship order for the respective research outputs with agreements recorded in the Authorship and Acknowledgement Agreement Form. Where a HDR candidate is joining an existing, ongoing research project, the existing agreement should be reviewed and updated with changes recorded in the Authorship and Acknowledgement Agreement Form.

(22) Non-HDR students who are completing a research thesis as part of their University course (e.g.Honours students) will typically be identified as the first author on any work arising from their thesis where they made a significant intellectual or scholarly contribution and the research is conducted by the candidate. Only the Head of School or delegate can approve variations to this principle based on the Authorship criteria as defined in the Authorship Policy. In circumstances where the student has not within a reasonable time, e.g. 6 months, taken the lead in the preparation of a manuscript for publication, or they have  indicated to their supervisor that they do not wish to publish from their thesis, it may be appropriate for the supervisor to be first author based on their contribution. In projects where multiple students are conducting the research, there should be a discussion of individual roles for research outputs and the authorship order should be agreed on and recorded in the Authorship and Acknowledgement Agreement Form. The Authorship and Acknowledgement Agreement form should be reviewed with changes recorded where a new researcher (student or otherwise) joins or leaves an existing research project.

Section 4 - Acknowledgement of Contributions other than Authorship

(23) The CRediT taxonomy should be used to guide discussions about acknowledgments.

(24) Examples of contributions to research that meet the criteria for acknowledgement may include:

1. technical support, and the use of research infrastructure, data collection, data entry, and laboratory or field work tasks by students and HDR candidates;
2. indigenous knowledges obtained through sources including unpublished manuscripts, or audio or video recordings. Researchers should seek approval from the Indigenous people involved in the project or the community from which that knowledge originates. The individual and community from which the knowledges originate should be acknowledged, as appropriate.

(25) All contributors who do not meet the authorship criteria but do meet the criteria for acknowledgment should be acknowledged unless they decline to be acknowledged.

(26) Written records must be kept detailing all acknowledgements to be made and permissions obtained.

Section 5 - Disclosure for use of Generative Artificial Intelliegence (gen-AI)

(27) If a gen-AI tool is used in the production of a research output, a clear disclosure statement must be included, for example, in the methods or in a standalone section of the research output, to indicate which gen-AI tool was used, how the tool was used and any limitations. Metadata including the version of the gen-AI tool and the date used should also be retained. Individual publishers may vary in their requirements for use and disclosure of gen-AI and these should be checked to ensure compliance. 

Section 6 - Author Affiliations

(28) All University Researchers are required to cite/by-line ‘University of Wollongong’ as their primary affiliation for work conducted as part of their association with the University.

(29) Other relevant organisations should also be cited, including other research institutions, industry associations, businesses or companies, not-for-profits, and those relevant to their research and its translation, such as end-users.

(30) In by-lines and citations, the name ‘University of Wollongong:  

1. must appear prominently and be cited as the first organisation in a publication by-line for the relevant University staff and students for work conducted as part of their association with the University;
2. must be used in full - acronyms or abbreviations should not be used in publications; and
3. must appear as the first element in recording the affiliation unless specific publication guidelines mandate otherwise. A University School, Department, Research Institute, Research Centre or Research Group may be listed as subsequent elements of the affiliation, if it has materially contributed to the research that led to the research output.

(31) Affiliated persons of the University should by-line their employing institution and may include the University as a secondary by-line.

(32) Relevant external affiliations, such as a company, business or other organisations pertinent to the author’s research and translation, including professional practice, should be cited.

(33) Appropriate citation of patents and related datasets is also important to demonstrate connectivity between original research and impact.