• Section 1 - Purpose of Policy
• Section 2 - Application and Scope
• Section 3 - Policy Principles
• Section 4 - Authorship Criteria
• Section 5 - Roles & Responsibilities
• Section 6 - Definitions

Section 1 - Purpose of Policy

(1) This Policy outlines the principles for determining authorship of publications that are the result of research undertaken at the University of Wollongong ("the University").

(2) The purpose of this Policy is to ensure:

1. researchers who participate in investigation and other academic activities are equitably acknowledged and their contributions are fairly represented;
2. the criteria for attribution of authorship of all research outputs is clarified and appropriate steps to confirm authorship are taken prior to any submission of research outputs for publication; and
3. the University complies and is fully consistent with all relevant external regulations and guidelines relating to the attribution of authorship.

Section 2 - Application and Scope

(3) This Policy applies to:

1. research and other academic outcomes distributed by both traditional and web-based publications such as journal articles, books, reports, chapters and conference papers; and
2. all researchers including academic, adjunct and professional staff, students, volunteers, Fellows, visiting academics and students and any other person(s) involved in joint publications with researchers at the University.

Section 3 - Policy Principles

(4) In accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2018 ("the Code") the principle of fairness requires that the work of others is citied and referenced appropriately and acknowledgement of authorship is given to those making a substantial scholarly contribution to the output.

(5) Authorship must be offered to all researchers satisfying the eligibility criteria (as outlined in Section 4). The decline or acceptance of authorship must be in writing using the process outlined in the Authorship Acknowledgement Procedure.

Section 4 - Authorship Criteria

(6) To be eligible to claim authorship the contribution must be intellectual and substantial and made in a combination of the following areas:

1. project and concept design;
2. research data analysis and interpretation;
3. drafting significant components of the work; and/or
4. revision of significant parts of the work to contribute to the interpretation of it.

(7) Authorship can only be offered to those researchers meeting the criteria in clause 5.

(8) Authors must qualify for and agree to the offer of authorship.

(9) Authorship is not a right that is:

1. tied to a position or a profession (such as Dean) or association with the author rather than by virtue of intellectual input into the work;
2. based on whether the contribution is paid or voluntary;
3. attributed to the provision of routine assistance or technical support, in the absence of intellectual input to the project;
4. offered for providing previously published materials or data to include in the publication, in the absence of intellectual input into the specific project; and/or
5. pertaining to the provision of resources, data, or material that is already in the public sphere or obtained from third parties with no intellectual input, even if the non-provision would have made the research difficult or impossible to pursue or complete.

Section 5 - Roles & Responsibilities

(10) The University has a responsibility to:

1. maintain and promote this Policy;
2. provide researchers with training and awareness of the policy and their responsibilities in relation to authorship; and
3. undertake annual monitoring of compliance.

(11) Researchers have a responsibility to:

1. comply with this Policy and all applicable regulations;
2. agree on authorship at the early stages of the project and periodically review their decisions;
3. offer authorship to all people meeting the criteria in Section 4;
4. accept or decline an offer of authorship in writing;
5. ensure authorship is not offered to those not meeting the criteria in Section 4;
6. take responsibility for the validity, originality and integrity of the research they contributed to the publication;
7. take all reasonable steps to ensure findings are accurate and honestly reported;
8. correct any inaccurate and/or improper reporting records as soon as they become aware of them;
9. include information acknowledging all financial and in-kind support that has been received for the research they are publishing;
10. include information acknowledging any conflicts of interest for the research being published;
11. follow the Authorship Acknowledgement Procedure and Authorship Grievance Procedure; and/or
12. ensure all scholarly outputs are recorded in the University Research Information System (RIS) and that research publications in RIS are also made available online via Research Online, the University’s institutional repository.

Section 6 - Definitions