Guidelines for Citing Multiple Authors

Nurse Author & Editor, Winter 2004 by Davidhizar, Ruth

Challenging Roles

Authors who write with others often encounter author-citation problems. Who should be and who should not be listed as an author? When is acknowledgment rather than authorship appropriate? Should the most well-known person always be listed first? How should faculty who help students publish be listed? This experienced author, coauthor, reviewer, and editor, provides answers to these questions.

The frequent discussions in nursing literature about citations for multiple authors suggest that correct assignment of credit has not always occurred. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2001, p. 350) includes a section on "Publication Credit" that denotes the importance of ethics to professional writers. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, 2001) also provides guidelines for team research and authorship.

While specific style guidelines may vary among journals, the ethical principles of honesty about authorship remain constant. Coauthors, reviewers, and editors need to be aware of issues that must be raised for correct citation when two or more authors are involved.

Provide Credit in Collaborative Projects

In a collaborative project, citation of authors may become a formidable issue. It is a rare instance when a professional does not crave the recognition of being listed as an author. However, only individuals who make a substantial intellectual contribution merit listing.

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, 2001) publishes a standard for attributing appropriate authorship credit. Authors who are cited need to provide a substantial contribution in three areas of the publication, including:

* Providing a concept or design for the study, or an analysis and interpretation of data.

* Writing or revising the manuscript for important intellectual content.

* Providing final approval of the version to be published.

When an author does not meet the criteria above, recognition should be provided in a by-line acknowledgment with the nature of the contribution (Ohler, 2003). Negative feelings related to the omission of someone who feels she or he should be listed can be avoided if authorship is clearly agreed on at the onset of the project.

List Authors By Their Contributions

List authors in order by the amount of time and work they put into the manuscript. The person who does the most work should be the first author. Subsequently, authors should be listed by the amount of time and effort expended on the project. For example, the first author of a research article is often the principal investigator.

A question may arise when a wellknown expert in the field is part of the project. Authors may feel that the expert should be listed first because of her or his stature; however, this is not the case.

Authors who think they are in a more prestigious profession or with more credentials may also feel that they deserve first authorship. Nevertheless, a physician or other professional should not be listed in front of a nurse who did the major work on the project and publication.

Authors are entrusted with providing valid and reliable information on authorship just as they are for the accuracy of content. While editors have responsibility for many other factors related to scholarly writing, accuracy of authorship is entrusted to authors. In one instance, two authors, who each thought they should be first author, sent in a manuscript without authors' names on the cover page. They told the editor to decide on the author listing. She declined. The authors never did agree and the manuscript was never published.

Agree Before Writing

When working on a joint project, agree in advance on the listing of authors. Authorship order should not be assumed. Sometimes, authorship may be negotiated. For example, for partners who frequently work together the first author position may be rotated on subsequent manuscripts.

In another instance, a person who needs first authorship in order to gain more points in a tenure review may agree to and do the work needed to be listed first. However, author listing is not the only criteria considered by tenure committees. The variety of coauthors and the volume of productivity are additional factors the committee considers.

Unfortunately, I did not know this when I first started writing. On some of the first manuscripts I published, I gave the first author position to more experienced colleagues who helped or guided me. I learned quickly the importance of first authorship when a graduate school admission committee did not give me full credit for these publications. Fortunately, I was still accepted. Now, as the dean of a nursing program, I encourage faculty to be principal investigators and take the lead role in writing publications, so that their work will be recognized by tenure committees.

Rearrange Author Order, If Indicated

Even when the order of authors' names is determined in advance of a project, it may be necessary to adjust the listing based on who actually puts in the most work as the project unfolds. In some cases, the person identified as the first author may need to divert efforts in another direction, and another person may take on more work.