Introduction and motivation

Even though the authorship list of any paper or conference proceeding will depend on the people, publication medium and the work, within the instrumentation division we have the following guidelines. These guidelines should create some clarity, but are always open to interpretation which means there should be a discussion about these choices. Therefore, try to involve the instrumentation director as early as possible when you are working on a paper or conference proceeding.

'A paper’s authorship attributes credit for particular discoveries to individuals or groups of individuals. Authorship is generally the accepted method for recognizing the contributions of researchers to their field of interest.' From: When Authorship Isn’t Enough: Lessons from CERN on the Implications of Formal and Informal Credit Attribution Mechanisms in Collaborative Research

Order of Authors

  1. First Author:

    • Typically the person who made the most significant contribution to the work and wrote the first draft of the manuscript.

  2. Last Author:

    • Within ID the last author should be either the program director who funds it (which for all DRDAM is Angelo Dragone)
    • Often the last author, usually the principal investigator or the one who provided overall guidance and oversight.

  3. Order of Contribution:

    • Within ID we order all authors “alphabetical” in between the first and last author. This includes the program or division director when they are not the last author.
    • Authors in between should be listed according to their level of contribution to the research and manuscript preparation.

Exceptions can be requested and may be granted by the division director.

Acknowledgments

  • Non-Author Contributions: Individuals who contributed to the research but do not meet the authorship criteria should be acknowledged separately in the acknowledgments section.

Approval process

TID approval process: 

All publications by members of ID must be reviewed and approved by their division director before being submitted. The division review will ensure that:

  • All publication requirements have been met,
  • The author list is appropriate,
  • Both prior work and current contributions have been reasonably acknowledged,
  • The document is clear and comprehensible, and
  • Alert the lead author when the paper is patent worthy or copyright sensitive.

Division procedures must ensure that the review is fair and unbiased, and that freedom of scientific inquiry is not unfairly constrained. The division review must be completed promptly, in no more than a few days. 

SLAC approval process: https://www-public.slac.stanford.edu/sciDoc/SciDoc_About_Resources_AuthorResp.asp

''All written results of SLAC work must be properly tracked, collected, and made publicly accessible as mandated by SLAC’s DOE contract. This applies to all work performed at SLAC, or work completed collaboratively elsewhere utilizing SLAC effort.

In line with DOE Order 241.1B, Scientific Publishing Services processes and tracks all SLAC-authored research papers, theses, or reports, regardless of where such research may eventually appear (e.g., a journal article, conference proceedings, preprint archive, or server elsewhere).

It is each SLAC author's responsibility to register and upload their SLAC documents to InfoMedia by doing the following:

  • Register for a document number with SciDoc.
  • Put the DOE contract acknowledgment on your paper (i.e., "Work supported [optional: in part] by the U.S. Department of Energy under contract number DE-AC02-76SF00515.").
  • Submit a copy of your registered document to SciDoc before publication or electronic posting
    (this includes submission to the arXiv).

For more information contact scipubs@slac.stanford.edu.''

To help the authors, think about the following criteria:

Authorship Criteria 

  1. Substantial Contributions:

    • Research Design: Significant involvement in the conception or design of the study. Examples include designing instrumentation, designing experiments, formulating research hypotheses, or creating theoretical models.
    • Instrumentation production/manufacturing: significant involvement in the creation of the instrument, system or experimental design. Examples include prototype development, system development and clean room work.
    • Data Acquisition: Major role in data collection or data acquisition. Examples include measuring performance, characterizing hardware, conducting experiments, designing and implementing sensors, testing Data Acquisition Systems (DAQ), or taking shifts for the experiment.
    • Data Analysis and Interpretation: Significant contribution to the analysis and interpretation of the data. Examples include analyzing experimental data, developing algorithms for data processing, interpreting results from simulations or experiments, and validating sensor outputs.

  2. Manuscript Preparation:

    • Drafting the Manuscript: Actively involved in drafting or critically revising the manuscript for important intellectual content. This includes writing sections on methodology, results, discussion, and conclusions.
    • Final Approval: All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript before submission, ensuring that it meets the required standards and accurately represents the research.

  3. Accountability:

    • Integrity of Work: Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Institute of author:

  1. If the work was done while the author only worked at SLAC, the following is appropriate: '1SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, M/S 96, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA'
  2. If the author moved institution during the writing process of the paper, but the work is not connected to the new Institute and no additional work was done, then used the previous Institute only.
  3. If the author moved in student during the writing process of the paper, and work was done at the new Institute/is connected to the new Institute, then use both institutes.

AI assisted technologies:

Authors who use AI-assisted technologies as significant components of their research study or as aids in the writing or presentation of the manuscript should note this in the cover letter and in the acknowledgments section of the manuscript. Detailed information should be provided in the methods section: The full prompt used in the production of the work, as well as the AI tool and its version, should be disclosed. Science

Ethical Considerations

  1. Transparency:

    • Ensure all authors understand and agree to the authorship criteria and order of authors before submitting the manuscript.

  2. Conflict of Interest:

    • Disclose any potential conflicts of interest among authors to avoid bias in the research.

  3. Changes in Authorship:

    • Any changes in authorship (addition or removal) after the initial submission should be agreed upon by all authors and justified to the journal or conference.

Communication and Documentation

  1. Regular Meetings:

    • Hold regular meetings to discuss contributions, progress, and authorship decisions throughout the research process.

  2. Written Agreement:

    • Consider having a written agreement at the start of the project outlining the expected contributions and preliminary authorship order.

  3. Documentation:

    • Keep detailed records of each contributor’s role and contributions to the project to support authorship decisions.

Dispute Resolution

  • Mediation: Establish a process for resolving authorship disputes, potentially involving an impartial third party or committee within the institution?

Implementing these guidelines can help promote fairness, transparency, and accountability in authorship practices within your division.


More information:

SLAC conduct of research: https://policies.slac.stanford.edu/categories/research/conduct-research

Stanford on academic authorship: https://doresearch.stanford.edu/policies/research-policy-handbook/conduct-research/academic-authorship


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