Research Integrity: Authorship Procedure

The purpose of our procedure

Our Procedure states the responsibilities of Adelaide University researchers to ensure the fair, honest and transparent attribution of authorship in their research outputs. It promotes best practice, ensures compliance with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research 2018 [‘the Code’], and is informed by the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research Authorship Guide 2019 (‘the Authorship Guide’).

Please read this Procedure in conjunction with:

• Research Integrity Policy
• Research Integrity: Open Access Procedure
• [Research Integrity: Research Data and Primary Materials Procedure]

Who our procedure applies to

• All members of the Adelaide University community who are involved in, or who assist with, the creation of research outputs associated with Adelaide University

Exclusions

• Our procedure does not apply to patents

Our Authorship Procedure

1. Who can be considered an author

The decision to include or exclude an author on a research output must consider the following:

1.1 Inclusion

An author must have made a significant intellectual or scholarly contribution to the research output and must agree to be included as an author.

An author’s contribution must include a combination of two or more of the following:

• conception and design of the project or output
• acquisition of research data which required significant intellectual judgement, planning, design, or input
• contribution of knowledge, where justified, including Indigenous knowledge
• analysis or interpretation of research data
• drafting significant parts of the research output or critically revising it to contribute to its interpretation.

When the editor of a significant collective work or anthology of research papers has made contributions analogous to those of authors, similar criteria may apply to ‘editor’ as to ‘author’. The term 'editor' must only be applied to a person who has played a significant role in the intellectual shaping of the research output.

1.1.1 Indigenous Authorship

The contribution of Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Knowledge to a published work may not always be weighted appropriately using non-Indigenous metrics of contribution. When including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as named authors where cultural and intellectual knowledge has been drawn on, conventions of Indigenous knowledge sharing and Indigenous group authorship should be negotiated and applied.

Indigenous group authorship refers to a publishing practice where a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are credited as authors on a work, acknowledging their collective knowledge and contribution to the research or creative piece, often including specific recognition of their language groups or traditional lands when citing them individually; this practice emphasises Indigenous voices and respects the communal and shared nature of knowledge within these communities.

People may choose to be listed as a group (such as an advisory), corporation or as individuals in line with this procedure.

1.2 Exclusion

Attribution of authorship or offer of inclusion as an author must not be made or accepted on the following grounds:

• the provision of funding, data, materials, infrastructure or access to equipment
• the provision of routine technical support, technical advice or technical assistance
• the position or profession of an individual, such as their role as the author’s supervisor or as head of department (‘gift authorship’)
• whether the contribution was paid for or voluntary
• the status of an individual who has not made a significant intellectual or scholarly contribution
• being such that it would elevate the esteem of the research (‘guest authorship’)

Generative artificial intelligence tools and associated technologies cannot be accountable for their contribution to a research output. They do not meet the requirements for authorship and must not be listed as authors.

1.3 Authorship agreement

Researchers should discuss authorship early in the research process and discussions should be ongoing as the project progresses. To ensure clarity and fairness, discussions should be documented, capturing agreed changes.  Two principles for these discussions are outlined below.

• Final authorship arrangements must be agreed to by all authors prior to dissemination of the research output
• Authors should obtain permission from named contributors before acknowledging them in research outputs

A person who qualifies as an author must give their written consent to be included or excluded as an author in the research output.  Consent may be given in the form of original hand-written signatures, emails, scanned documents or electronic identification as appropriate.

An authorship agreement can be in the form of emails, meeting notes, discussion or other evidence of agreement. It does not need to be a formal legal document.

2. Authorship responsibilities

2.1 Individual authors and joint first authors

All authors must:

• be directly responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their individual contribution to the research output. All listed authors are collectively accountable for the whole research output, and each author must have confidence in the accuracy and integrity of the contributions of their co-authors
• discuss authorship with everyone involved and make necessary changes
• agree the order of author names with co-authors and ensure that the order is recorded and reviewed in tandem with any other decisions about authorship. This will be based on discipline-specific guidelines
• declare any actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest relating to their research project in accordance with the Adelaide University Conflict of interest Policy and Conflict of interest policies of applicable research funders and publishers
• avoid ‘predatory publishers’
• ensure there is an appropriate response to any concerns that are raised following publication about the accuracy or integrity of any part of the research output. This may include providing necessary evidence and may result in correction of the public record
• where relevant, make data or code available in alignment with the [Research Data and Primary Materials Procedure]
• seek advice from a senior researcher in their discipline, or a research integrity advisor, if they are unsure about appropriate authorship practices

2.2 Corresponding authors

Where there is more than one author, the co-authors must collectively agree on the appointment of a corresponding author. The corresponding author will manage the development of the research output and communicate with the publisher.

The corresponding author must ensure the following:

• Included individuals meet the criteria for authorship and are prepared to take responsibility for their contribution.
• Contributors who meet the criteria for Authorship will not be excluded as an Author without their written consent.
• Those offered authorship must make a reasonable effort to respond to an offer of authorship. Where a potential author fails to respond to an offer of authorship, corresponding authors must keep a record of decisions made on behalf of the authors. 
• All individuals and organisations, including research funders, that contributed to the research output are acknowledged. Written consent from individuals will be obtained where practicable. 
• All reasonable steps to obtain permission from a copyright owner are taken before research findings are republished in any format and to avoid duplicate publishing and/or self-plagiarism. 
• An authorship agreement is made which demonstrates that all authors have approved their participation, the authorship order and the version to be published.
• An author’s consent must be provided in writing, unless this is not possible. If an author is deceased or cannot be contacted following reasonable efforts, publication may proceed if there are no grounds to believe that they would not have objected to being included as an author. The agreement must be finalised before the research output is presented in a public forum and be updated if a research output is re-submitted. Approval or non-approval must not be unreasonably withheld particularly for non-research or non-scholarly reasons.
• All written evidence of an author’s consent to the publication (e.g. email correspondence) is retained at Adelaide University for a minimum of five years from publication for all research outputs. This information can be provided on request.
• Publication does not proceed if any of the authors have valid reservations concerning the theory, data or its interpretation that underpins critical parts of the work, or citations or plagiarism including self-plagiarism.
• That the requirements of the Adelaide University Open Access Procedure regarding lodgement of research outputs into the Institutional Repository are met.
• That publication requirements of Open Access policies of any funding organisation providing support for the research project are also met.

2.3 Training and advice

Adelaide University will provide relevant training and advice to our researchers.

3. We acknowledge everyone’s contributions

An author must acknowledge individuals and organisations that contribute to their research output. This practice aligns with ethical research standards and is mandated by the Code and many funding bodies. Contributions may include financial and in-kind support, research assistance, technical writing, graduate researchers, and access to research facilities or major infrastructure.

3.1 Indigenous Knowledge

Authors must appropriately recognise, value and respect the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and adhere to the AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research, the NHMRC Guidelines on ethical research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Authors seeking to publish Indigenous knowledge obtained through sources such as unpublished manuscripts or audio or video recordings must seek approval from the Indigenous people involved in the project or the community from which that knowledge originates and acknowledge those contributors.

3.2 Generative Artificial Intelligence

Generative AI can be used in publications to improve the readability and clarity of written content by assisting authors with generating drafts, revising language, and suggesting phrasing. Generative AI must not be considered an author itself, and its use must be disclosed transparently.

3.3 Stating author affiliations

Authors must acknowledge Adelaide University (and any other institution or association to which an author is affiliated) for their contributions to research outcomes. This represents good research practice and, allows more efficient collection of relevant research outcomes, and facilitates better capture and re-use of research data for multiple purposes. It encourages continuing research funding whilst providing external recognition for the institution.

Where appropriate, Adelaide University staff and student authors must cite or by-line Adelaide University as their primary affiliation for any work conducted as part of their association with us.

For titleholders if a research output would be reasonably viewed as related to the titleholder’s Adelaide University appointment, then Adelaide University must be included in the by-line.

Researchers must use an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCiD) to enhance the accessibility of their body of work. ORCiD also enables seamless updates to Adelaide University systems, as well as certain external publication and funding platforms.

4. How to resolve a dispute

There may be occasions when researchers are unable to reach mutual agreement on an authorship issue. Such matters must be addressed in a respectful, collegiate, and transparent manner, starting with the co-authors.

Authorship disputes must be initially addressed at the local level. Advice can be sought from relevant supervisors, managers and Research Integrity Advisors.

If the dispute remains unresolved during the transition period, it must be handled by the foundation university with which the corresponding author is associated. The relevant policies and procedure may be accessed through the following links:

University of Adelaide Authorship Policy

University of South Australia Authorship Policy

If the corresponding author is not associated with a foundation university the process followed will be determined by the relevant College Pro Vice Chancellor or staff delegate.

4.1 Breaches of the Code

The following are examples of actions that could lead to a breach of the Code:

• making an inappropriate claim, demand, offer or acceptance of authorship
• attributing authorship to a person without their consent
• publishing research without the final approval of all authors
• failure to comply with an authorship agreement. Including failing to take accountability for outputs/contributions

In such cases, the matter will be handled in line with the [Adelaide University Research Misconduct Procedure] and relevant Enterprise Agreement where applicable.

Any determination made as part of a dispute resolution will not be considered a potential Breach of the Code under the [Adelaide University Research Misconduct Procedure]. However, proceeding to publication without written agreement or formal determination of authorship may be considered a Breach of the Code.

Definitions used in our procedure

Adelaide University community means a broad range of stakeholders who engage with Adelaide University and includes (but is not limited to) all students, staff, and non-staff members of Adelaide University including alumni, honorary titleholders, adjuncts, visiting academics, guest lecturers, volunteers, suppliers and partners who are engaging with and contributing to the work of Adelaide University.

Corresponding Author means a specified co-author of a research output, who accepts overall responsibility for the work and who acts as point of contact for all correspondence and maintains related records. The position is determined by agreement amongst the authors. The position is sometimes referred to elsewhere as the ‘executive author’.

Foundation Universities means The University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.

Open Access means the world-wide online availability of knowledge and materials, including research outputs and research data, free of charge and access restrictions to the user.  

Predatory Publishers means publishers that engage in unprofessional or unethical practices by taking advantage of the open access model to charge authors an article processing fee without providing (quality) peer review or editorial services. It is important to note that unethical and low-quality publishers are not confined to open access but also exist in traditional publishing models.

Research means ‘the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies, inventions and understandings. This could include synthesis and analysis of previous research to the extent that it is new and creative.’ (The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2018, p.5.)

Research Output means the dissemination of research findings and includes scholarly books, book chapters, reference works, journal articles, conference papers, working paper series, multimedia and other Non-Traditional Research Outputs.

Titleholders means any person upon whom Adelaide University has conferred an honorary academic title.

Transition Period means the period following staff transfer dates, until 1 January 2026.

Please refer to our Adelaide University glossary for a full list of our definitions.

How our procedure is governed

This Procedure is categorised, approved and owned in line with the governance structure of Adelaide University and the offices and officers listed below.

Legislation and other documents related to this procedure

Adelaide University Act (2023)

Copyright Act (1968)

Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research 2018

Code Authorship Guide 2019  

Australian Research Council Open Access Policy

AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research

NHMRC Guidelines on ethical research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

History of changes

Note on structures, positions and position titles:

At the time of writing, the organisational structure, positions and position titles for Adelaide University have not been confirmed. Accordingly, square brackets [ ] temporarily enclose position titles in this procedure until position titles for Adelaide University are known.