Authorship – Guidance and Disputes

Raise a query or concern

If you have a query or concern relating to authorship or publication please contact research-ethics@bristol.ac.uk.

Definition of Authorship

There are varying definitions of authorship. A good starting point is from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) which states that:

The term authorship can refer to the creator or originator of an idea … or the individual or individuals who develop and bring to fruition the product that disseminates intellectual or creative works …At a minimum, authors should guarantee that they have participated in creating the work as presented and that they have not violated any other author’s legal rights (eg, copyright) in the process

There is variation across different publishers, institutions, academic fields, faculties, schools, and departments, about common practices and criteria for determining authorship standards.

Please be aware that different publications have their own authorship criteria. Researchers are advised to check the authorship criteria where they are considering publishing, and that all those involved in the paper understand the criteria (for example what differentiates authorship from acknowledgement) and ensure that the criteria are adhered to. 

Assigning Authorship

Authorship References and Further Resources

A variety of related resources are available internally at the University and from external organisations.