Responsible Authorship and Credit in Engineering and Scientific Research
Caroline Whitbeck · Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2011
What are the ways in which credit can be given for research contributions when writing a research report? Credit for research contributions is assigned in three principal ways in research publications: by authorship (of the research being published), citation (of previously published or formally presented work), and via a written acknowledgment (of some contribution to the present research). Good research practice also requires fulfilling responsibilities. As was discussed in the introduction, fulfilling responsibilities typically requires both creativity and more exercise of judgment than do fulfilling obligations, respecting others’ rights, or following rules of the form “Do X” or “Do not do Y.” Responsible authorship requires the concept of forward-looking responsibility. Forward-looking responsibility specifies the end (i.e., the good result) that is to be achieved , such as “the responsibility for the integrity of the research record .” To fulfill a responsibility one must figure out what to do or avoid doing to achieve the specified ends.