In a 1 November Editorial (see Nature 450, 1; 2007) and at Nautilus, Nature explores whether co-author accountability can improve research integrity. As part of this exercise, we took a snapshot look at the popularity of Author Contributions statements in Nature.
We strongly encourage authors to make these statements, specifying the work each author contributed to the paper, but it is not mandatory. Should that change? Part of the answer to this question lies in how useful authors find the idea. In the past three or four issues of Nature, about half of the Articles and Letters carried contributions statements.
Here is an example, from the 1 November 2007 issue: “A.C. and J.H.H. conducted the observations at the telescope. A.C. reduced the data, and P.W.L. performed the Monte Carlo modelling. A.C. wrote the main paper, and P.W.L. wrote the Supplementary Information. All authors discussed the results and implications and commented on the manuscript at all stages.”
Please visit Nautilus to give us your opinion.
Nature 450, xiii; 15 November 2007