Contributor Roles Taxonomy

The Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT) is a list of 14 different ways that people contribute to research projects. For scientific journals and other venues that use CRediT, it provides a way for the researchers associated with a project to indicate their role in the project. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Integrity_of_Randomized_Clinical_Trials/JEEzEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Contributor+Roles+Taxonomy%22&pg=PT123&printsec=frontcover

CRediT comprises 14 different roles: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, and Writing – review & editing. Conceptualization involves setting objectives, aims, and goals. Data Curation manages the data necessary for research, including its collection, storage, and reuse. Formal Analysis applies statistical or mathematical techniques to study data. Funding Acquisition is the process of obtaining financial support for the project. Investigation involves conducting experiments and collecting data or evidence. Methodology relates to developing the models that underline the research.https://www.google.com/books/edition/Research_Methodology_in_Bioscience_and_B/BQTOEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Contributor+Roles+Taxonomy%22&pg=PA62&printsec=frontcoverhttps://www.google.com/books/edition/Research_Design_in_Clinical_Psychology/okHSEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Contributor+Roles+Taxonomy%22&pg=PA630&printsec=frontcover Project Administration manages the execution of the project. Resources entail supplying the necessary materials, tools, and infrastructure for the research. Software involves designing and programming software necessary for the project. Supervision includes overseeing the research process and providing mentorship. Validation checks the accuracy and reproducibility of the research outputs. Visualization creates visual representations of data. Writing – Original Draft entails drafting the manuscript, and Writing – Review and Editing includes revising and finalizing the manuscript.

CRediT also provides for indicating the degree of contribution ("lead", "equal", or "supporting") for each contributor. Unlike the 14 contribution categories, the NISO standard describes this as optional for CRediT users to implement.{{cite report |author= |doi=10.3789/ansi.niso.z39.104-2022 |publisher=NISO |title="ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022, CRediT, Contributor Roles Taxonomy" |ISBN=978-1-950980-18-5 |ISSN=1041-5653 }}

The Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT) was developed to address the limitations of traditional author lists, which often fail to accurately represent the diverse contributions of researchers.{{Cite web|url=https://credit.niso.org/origins/|title=Origins of CRediT|date=April 14, 2020}} It originated from a 2012 workshop hosted by the Wellcome Trust and Harvard University, bringing together researchers, publishers, and funders to improve how individual contributions are documented.

In 2012, a draft taxonomy was created at a workshop held at Harvard involving biomedical scientists, publishers, and research funders.{{Cite journal |last1=Brand |first1=Amy |last2=Allen |first2=Liz |last3=Altman |first3=Micah |last4=Hlava |first4=Marjorie |last5=Scott |first5=Jo |date=April 2015 |title=Beyond authorship: attribution, contribution, collaboration, and credit |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1087/20150211 |journal=Learned Publishing |language=en |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=151–155 |doi=10.1087/20150211 |issn=0953-1513}}{{Cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=Liz |last2=Scott |first2=Jo |last3=Brand |first3=Amy |last4=Hlava |first4=Marjorie |last5=Altman |first5=Micah |date=April 2014 |title=Publishing: Credit where credit is due |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/508312a |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=508 |issue=7496 |pages=312–313 |doi=10.1038/508312a |pmid=24745070 |bibcode=2014Natur.508..312A |issn=1476-4687}}

In 2014, a working group of publishers, funders, and university representatives began a meeting to refine the draft of the CRediT taxonomy, coordinated by the Consortia Advancing Standards in Research Administration Information (CASRAI). A year later, in 2015, CRediT was formally introduced and since then it has been adopted by publishers and research organizations.

By 2017, PLOS journals and eLife had adopted CRediT,{{Cite web |last=Atkins |first=Helen |date=2016 |title=Author Credit: PLOS and CRediT Update |url=https://theplosblog.plos.org/2016/07/author-credit-plos-and-credit-update/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809112642/https://theplosblog.plos.org/2016/07/author-credit-plos-and-credit-update/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=x9zLlv39LCoOWbIxzbyU3Nf6Risdt3xwWDihSoxnACs-1723202802-0.0.1.1-4351 |archive-date=2024-08-09 |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=PLOS blog}}{{Cite web |date=2017-01-04 |title=Enabling the Contributor Roles Taxonomy for author contributions |url=https://elifesciences.org/inside-elife/f39cfcf5/enabling-the-contributor-roles-taxonomy-for-author-contributions |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=eLife |language=en}} and in 2018 it was endorsed by representatives of the National Academy of Sciences.{{Cite journal |last1=McNutt |first1=Marcia K. |last2=Bradford |first2=Monica |last3=Drazen |first3=Jeffrey M. |last4=Hanson |first4=Brooks |last5=Howard |first5=Bob |last6=Jamieson |first6=Kathleen Hall |last7=Kiermer |first7=Véronique |last8=Marcus |first8=Emilie |last9=Pope |first9=Barbara Kline |last10=Schekman |first10=Randy |last11=Swaminathan |first11=Sowmya |last12=Stang |first12=Peter J. |last13=Verma |first13=Inder M. |date=2018-03-13 |title=Transparency in authors' contributions and responsibilities to promote integrity in scientific publication |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=115 |issue=11 |pages=2557–2560 |bibcode=2018PNAS..115.2557M |doi=10.1073/pnas.1715374115 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=5856527 |pmid=29487213 |doi-access=free}} Over the next several years, some of the largest publishers of scientific journals began using CRediT.{{Cite web |title=CRediT: How do we recognize contributions to Research? An interview with V.P. of Publications at AGU |url=https://www.wiley.com/en-us/network/publishing/societies/open-access/credit-how-do-we-recognize-contributions-to-research-an-interview-with-vp-of-publications-at-agu |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=www.wiley.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2020-01-14 |title=CRediT |url=https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/credit |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Sage Publications |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=CRediT where credit's due |url=https://www.elsevier.com/en-au/connect/credit-where-credits-due |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=www.elsevier.com |language=en-au}}{{Cite web |title=Frontiers adopts CRediT to enhance clarity in research authorship |url=https://www.frontiersin.org/news/2023/07/20/frontiers-adopts-credit-to-enhance-clarity-in-research-authorship/ |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=www.frontiersin.org}}

Interest in CRediT increased in 2020 following grant support from the Wellcome Trust and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which aimed to expand its use and encourage further awareness, advocacy, and standardization.

In 2022, CRediT became an ANSI/NISO standard,{{Cite web |title=Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) Formalized as ANSI/NISO Standard {{!}} NISO website |url=https://www.niso.org/press-releases/contributor-roles-taxonomy-credit-formalized-ansiniso-standard |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=www.niso.org}} including metadata for use in the JATS XML version of scholarly articles (ANSI/NISO z39104-2022-credit).{{Cite web |title=ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022, CRediT, Contributor Roles Taxonomy {{!}} NISO website |url=https://www.niso.org/publications/z39104-2022-credit |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=www.niso.org |language=en}}

In 2023, a systematic scoping review identified 20 unique ethical issues related to contributor role taxonomies like CRediT.{{Cite journal |last1=Hosseini |first1=Mohammad |last2=Gordijn |first2=Bert |last3=Wafford |first3=Q. Eileen |last4=Holmes |first4=Kristi L. |date=2024-08-17 |title=A systematic scoping review of the ethics of Contributor Role Ontologies and Taxonomies |journal=Accountability in Research |language=en |volume=31 |issue=6 |pages=678–705 |doi=10.1080/08989621.2022.2161049 |issn=0898-9621|doi-access=free |pmid=36641627 |pmc=11795455 }}

In a study of one psychology research project, independent researchers read detailed descriptions of other researchers' contributions, the results indicated that the independent researchers had low agreement about both the number and type that the contributions should be classified into.{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=J. Oliver |last2=Staton |first2=Christian |last3=Smith |first3=Timothy |last4=Paris |first4=Bastien |date=2020 |title=Credit where credit is due? An examination of the reliability of crediting behavior in science |url=https://osf.io/ctwd7/ |website=Open Science Framework}} Nevertheless, there have also been suggestions on how to extend CRediT roles in three phases including "Identification of candidate roles", "Deciding what roles to include in the standard lists", and "Integrating new roles into the existing list of roles".{{Cite journal |last1=Hosseini |first1=Mohammad |last2=Colomb |first2=Julien |last3=Holcombe |first3=Alex O. |last4=Kern |first4=Barbara |last5=Vasilevsky |first5=Nicole A. |last6=Holmes |first6=Kristi L. |date=2023 |title=Evolution and adoption of contributor role ontologies and taxonomies |journal=Learned Publishing |language=en |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=275–284 |doi=10.1002/leap.1496 |issn=0953-1513|doi-access=free }}

As the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors has pointed out, documenting contributions with CRediT or another scheme "leaves unresolved the question of the quantity and quality of contribution that qualify an individual for authorship", suggesting that authorship guidelines are still necessary, although authorship guidelines also typically fail to specify the quantity of contribution required.{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals |url=https://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=International Committee of Medical Journal Editors}}

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Category:Academic journals

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