University of California, Berkeley

Department of City and Regional Planning

April 1997

POLICY STATEMENT

Credit for Collaborative Faculty-Student Research Publications

Preamble

Research involving both students and faculty is a central part of university life and at its best is a process in which ideas are developed collaboratively. Ideas are the currency in which we deal, and students and faculty deserve and need to get appropriate credit for the intellectual contributions they make. However, both research styles and norms concerning authorship vary among universities, departments, and disciplines. Recognizing this, the Berkeley campus does not have a uniform policy on credit for collaborative research and publications, but calls upon each department and research unit to develop its own policies and to discuss these policies among the faculty and graduate students.

This statement sets forth the Department of City and Regional Planning's policies and procedures on giving credit for collaborative faculty-student research publications. Recognizing that questions about authorship of work produced through faculty-student associations of various kinds (thesis or dissertation advisor and student, research supervisor and student, course instructor and student) often turn on the specifics of the interactions, our policies and procedures rest on the proposition that the kind of credit that is appropriate in a given circumstance is best determined by the involved parties. Here we offer guidance through a series of policy statements and set forth a procedure for handling disputes that cannot be satisfactorily settled by the individuals.

Policies

Faculty members have a special responsibility to acknowledge student contributions, recognizing that we are training students to be the next generation of faculty members and leading practitioners. Faculty members routinely suggest research topics, recommend cases to examine, and advise on methodologies and data that could be used in student research. Faculty members also routinely assist students and colleagues in their research and writing by providing detailed comments and critiques, by proposing alternative ways of communicating an idea, and by editing drafts. This is part of thc normal role of an educator and by itself does not confer a right to co-authorship on the faculty member. By the same token, faculty members have a right to expect to be cited for their ideas and assistance, and students should be aware that giving appropriate credit for such faculty contributions and assistance is important, both as a matter of fairness and because such contributions are a consideration in faculty promotions. If an associate has suggested a research topic, identified a theoretical framework for the research, recommended research methods or data_, or suggested conclusions that might be drawn from the research, these contributions should be specifically acknowledged.

Students and faculty members have an obligation to properly cite works used and to credit ideas suggested to them by others – whether from publications or from oral Communications Faculty advisors have an obligation to insist that student work gives proper credit to both published and unpublished sources

Authorship credit should be based on intellectual contribution. In attributions of authorship of research carried out jointly by faculty and students, the names of the authors should be listed in the order of their relative contributions to the publication (including research design, research performance, and writing.)

In many research projects the ideas, findings, and interpretations are a joint product of faculty and students. In these cases co-authorship of papers is appropriate. However, a variety of agreements might be reached. For example, in collaborative efforts where the team members each take the lead on specific aspects of the work, team members may agree to publish the pieces they led as sole-authored, crediting the others contributions through acknowledgments and citations to other publications. Or they may agree to publish all items as co-authored with the lead author changing with the topic.

The fact that one person from the research team actually writes the paper which presents the joint work does not confer sole ownership of the ideas in the work to the writer. Editing, even extensive editing, of a paper does not confer co-authorship on the editor/reviewer. Acknowledgment of the editor/reviewers assistance is the appropriate action. However, editing that goes beyond simple correction of grammar, spelling, and punctuation to clarify meaning and structure does make an intellectual contribution and requires more specific acknowledgment. Extensive rewriting of a draft which not only clarifies meaning and shapes structure but introduces new ideas and interpretations constitutes a significant intellectual contribution for which co-authorship may be appropriate; hence such extensive editing ordinarily would not be done on a manuscript which is to be single-authored, as for example a dissertation or thesis.

Research assistance, even extensive research assistance, does not confer co-authorship on a student if the assistant simply carries out the instructions of the faculty member. Examples of work that typically would fall into this category would include: creating a bibliography, administering a survey designed by others, entering data into a data base, running statistical analyses designed by others, preparing tables and charts from data sets and analyses, doing drawings requested by others.

In each case, acknowledgment of the assistance provided is an appropriate action. Paying a student for work on a project does not transfer ownership of the ideas generated by the student to the faculty member; the faculty members should provide credit for student work according to the intellectual contribution made.

Procedures

Discussion over the amount and kind of credit to be given should occur at the start of an association so that expectations are clear and the parties can develop a shared understanding of what the obligations and rewards will be. The scope and nature of research arrangements may change over time, and when this happens the parties should re-open discussions.

Should a question arise over credit or attribution, the parties should first attempt to resolve the question among themselves. My dispute over issues of credit or attribution which cannot be settled satisfactorily by the individuals involved should be brought to the attention of the Department Chair, who may attempt an informal resolution of the dispute.

If a resolution acceptable to all parties to the dispute cannot be reached, the Chair will appoint an ad hoc departmental committee of three members, including at least one student for cases where the dispute is between a student and a faculty member. The ad hoc committee will hear the complaint and will propose a solution to the dispute.

Attempts at informal resolution among the parties are to be initiated within 30 days of the time in which the dispute first arises or is discovered. If the dispute has not been settled within 15 days, it should be referred to the Chair for assistance with resolution or appointment of an ad hoc committee. The ad hoc committee normally will be established within 15 days of referral and will complete its deliberations within 30 days of its establishment. The ad hoc committee will prepare and submit to the Chair a brief written report summarizing the complaint and any counter-complaints and responses that may have been presented, and setting forth its findings and recommendations for the resolution of the dispute. The Chair will then meet with the parties to the dispute to communicate the ad hoc committee findings and recommendations. If the recommendations are acceptable to the parties, the Chair will record tile parties agreement. Otherwise, thee Chair will record that a mutually satisfactory settlement was not reached.

If a mutually satisfactory settlement of the dispute cannot be reached through the Departments informal and formal procedures, the complaint can be brought to the Graduate Division, where both informal and formal procedures for dispute resolution have been established. A 15 day time limit applies to the filing of formal appeals from the Departmental decision to the Graduate Division.

Students also may contact the Office of the Ombudsman for Students for informal assistance with complaint resolution.

 

 

Adopted April 1997