13  Authorship and Licensing Guidelines

Our goal is to consistently, accurately and transparently attribute the contribution of each contributor to papers, software, data products and other scientific outputs that our group leads or contributes to. We seek to encourage participation in manuscripts by interested parties, not limited to scientists, developers, and students who are directly involved in our projects. We hope to recognize each contributor who has made a significant and defined contribution.

Below we define group protocols and expectations for being acknowledged and acknowledging contributions to different types of content.

We generally follow the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to define contributions, but are open when collaborators use other approaches.

13.1 Publications

13.1.1 Expectations as Co-Authors

For publications like peer-reviewed journal articles, white papers, conference papers, etc. CCT Data Science members who are substantially involved should be listed as authors. Authorship and author order should be discussed with collaborators early and often (e.g. during the project plan phase of incubator projects). Involvement need not include writing (see CRediT and MeRIT frameworks) to be considered for authorship.

13.1.2 Offering and Assigning Authorship as Leads

When leading a paper or other scholarly product, the group aims to be fair in offering authorship including providing potential co-authors with opportunities to contribute.

Guidelines for different stages of the process:

  • Initial planning (Start of project or collaboration):
    • Discuss authorship roles and expectations at the outset of a project; point collaborators to this page to review group policies and CRediT taxonomy.
    • The scope of contributions that warrant authorship and this timeline should be made clear to all.
  • Draft Stage:
    • Revisit the authorship list, reach out to potential co-authors.
    • Share project scope, target journals.
    • Provide regular progress updates.
    • Communicate opportunities to contribute (e.g., writing, analysis, revision).
    • Provide at least two weeks (preferably more) for contributors to review drafts or provide input.
  • Prior to Submission:
    • Share manuscript with all co-authors for review and approval.
    • Ensure co-authors meet group and journal authorship criteria.
    • Identify additional contributors for acknowledgement and confirm funding sources.
  • During Revision:
    • Provide sufficient time for all co-authors to approve major revisions.
  • Template letter to collaborators
**Subject:** Request for Contributions and Feedback on [Product Name]

Dear [Collaborator Name(s)],

I hope this message finds you well. As part of the [Project Title], we are currently drafting [Product Name]. I am reaching out to ensure that all collaborators have the opportunity to contribute and review the manuscript.

Here are the key details:
- **Scope of Work:**
- **Target Journal/Outlet:**
- **Current Timeline:**

We would appreciate your input at this stage. Contributions can include [specific examples].

Thank you for your time and collaboration!

13.2 Software / Code

Our group uses Zenodo for archiving code we produce in collaboration with researchers. Code authorship and author order need not be the same as the authorship and author order for publications or data that the code contributes to. Have discussions early and often about authorship of code.

13.2.1 Zenodo + GitHub integration

The easiest way to archive code on Zenodo is to take advantage of the Zenodo–GitHub integration. If there is a CITATION.cff file in a GitHub repository, it will be used to populate the metadata on Zenodo. We recommend creating a CITATION.cff file with a tool such as cffinit or the cffr R package. Use semantic versioning in GitHub releases and in the corresponding version: field of CITATION.cff.

13.3 Data

Zenodo can also be used to archive data and it is an especially good option when code and data are in the same GitHub repository. Other options for archiving data include Dryad, UA ReDATA, and domain-specific data repositories. On Zenodo (possibly other repositories), there is a metadata field for contributor which is distinct from author. This field may be appropriate for crediting CCT Data Science members who contributed to data management but were not involved in creation of the data. Discuss this with collaborators early and often.

13.4 Other

For guidelines on recognizing our group on web apps/websites, presentations, handouts, and other products, see group branding guidelines.

13.5 Licenses

Our group uses the following licenses:

  1. Why Dryad uses CC-0: https://blog.datadryad.org/2011/10/05/why-does-dryad-use-cc0/↩︎