# data[].attributes.headline
Keeping track of contributions in research

# data[].attributes.subject
Keeping track of contributions in research

# data[].attributes.body
In team-based science, individuals bring different skills and experiences to the research process, and their contributions to research outputs can be varied.

Tracking the contributions of different team members is important for transparency in the scientific record, and for supporting the career development of team members at all levels.

This is particularly important for junior team members, whose labor might not qualify for authorship, but whose labor contributed to the research output.

# data[].attributes.body
With the support of a Science of Learning Grant from Singapore's National Research Foundation, BLIP Lab's team grew rapidly from 2017-2018, with team members with specialist skills working on different branches of the research design and implementation. Large-group collaborations were crucial for our iterative design process.

# data[].attributes.body
To carry out our research on the emergence of multilingualism in Singapore's youngest children, our research design process involves several stages of consultation with our multilingual team members, followed by community consultation, and revision.

You can find out more about the approach in this video:
https://youtu.be/omEIxf5Ebx8

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Design thinking for data collection in multilingual environments

# data[].attributes.body
Iterative design takes time, and team membership can change between project inception and journal article writeup. Transparency in acknowledging contributions to research is achievable if you credit everybody, credit early, and credit everything.

# data[].attributes.body
Given the wide range of inputs, and the long timescale for some research deliverables, BLIP Lab's approach is to document all contributions (however small), to ensure that nobody's labour is forgotten.

Contributions by full-time lab members are documented by their line manager, and checked by at least one other senior team member, and the team member themself.

Contributions by student lab-members are documented by supervising faculty, or senior lab members leading undergraduate research teams.

Community consultants are asked by their lab-contact if they would like to be acknowledged by name, or thanked anonymously. This is an important check, as some of our community consultants are only willing to consult confidentially.

The PI has final signoff on contributions.

# data[].attributes.body
Hint. Documenting everybody gives you a great chance to let your junior lab members know that you value their work. Your juniors can also see how they could work towards greater recognition on the project. This provides transparent pathways to authorship.

# data[].attributes.body
In some fields of research it is common to curate author/contributor lists only at the very end of a project, when the final journal articles are written. In some cases, this means that team members who created tools or protocols at the start of the research process are no longer members of the team. In some authorship frameworks, people who did not contribute to the journal article itself are not considered authors of the journal article. This means some contributors are left out.

As junior researchers have more precarious employment, this can create a structural bias against junior researchers whose contributions may have been critical during the development of the project, but whose labour is subsequently forgotten.

Documenting credits from the very beginning of a project creates a more transparent record that is not limited by the constraints of which contributions are authorship-worthy for a journal article.

# data[].attributes.body
Hint. Be kind to your future-self. By documenting early, you won't have to struggle to remember who did what on different stages of a research project!

# data[].attributes.body
Different projects require different kinds of contributions. Although there are several models available for what is authorship-worthy in a journal article, you can use a flexible approach to crediting within your own team.

In some elements of our research on multilingualism, working in multiple languages is an important part of our research design, and translation can sometimes result in wholesale redesign across multiple languages. In other contexts we create a source text in English, and translate into other languages without substantial adaptation. In the first context, authorship is appropriate, while in the second credit is appropriate, but additional contributions would be required to qualify for authorship.

You can take a flexible approach to crediting what is important for different projects. Even small contributions can be credited, and you can create your own credit categories.

# data[].attributes.body
Hint. You don't have to wait for journal articles to get your documentation -- and your credits -- in shape. You can archive research tools, translations, protocols, processing pipelines and code. All of these elements are research outputs that will be useful for your future journal articles, as you can link them straight in when it is time.

# data[].attributes.headline
How to credit everybody, early for everything

# data[].attributes.subject
How to credit everybody, early for everything

# data[].attributes.body
Below are two options we have used in the BLIP Lab, a Credits List, and a Credits Table. Having tried both methods, we now prefer the Credit's Table for its efficiency and transparency.

# data[].attributes.body
One approach to documenting contributions is a credits list, with each specific role identified on a separate row, followed by a list of contributors.

This strategy is similar to the credits listings for artistic productions like films, stage plays, or art shows.

# data[].attributes.body
In the example above, you can see that many of the names are repeated multiple times in different roles, making the format somewhat inefficient.

Example from: Styles, Suzy J, 2021, "Talk Together - A four week programme of tips to enhance parent-child interactions", https://doi.org/10.21979/N9/W1D24L, DR-NTU (Data), V1

# data[].attributes.body
Since roles and contributors can overlap in a complex production, arranging the items in a table can be an efficient way to visualize and understand different individual contributions.

A table can be built up gradually over time, as new tasks emerge (additional columns), and new team members join (additional rows). A simple dot or letter can be used to mark out which categories an individual has contributed to.

# data[].attributes.body
We have found the credits table to be easier to use, and more transparent than a credits list or a typical acknowledgements narrative paragraph. The array of dots gives a visual overview of the project and the number of different contributions by different individuals. The marking of authorship-worthy contributions provides added transparency about which tasks resulted in authorship for a particular project deliverable.

# data[].attributes.body
In the example shown here, we can see many team members have contributed to multiple categories.

An additional advantage of the table is that some contributions can be designated as authorship-contributions (here, marked in blue), and meaning that the authorship list is directly linked to individual contributions in  a transparent manner.

Example from: Styles, Suzy J; binte Amran, Shaza; Ang, Xin Wen; Mohd Salleh, Nur Sakinah; Woon, Fei Ting; Yogarrajah, Eshwaaree C, 2021, "SESAME Topic Prompts", https://doi.org/10.21979/N9/07GFI2, DR-NTU (Data), V1

# data[].attributes.headline
How does this approach differ from others?

# data[].attributes.subject
How does this approach differ from others?

# data[].attributes.body
This approach is grounded in the same logic as traditional models of authorship + acknowledgement, with the reminder to credit everybody, credit early, and credit everything, and provides the flexible credits table as a model for how to achieve this.

• The credits table is maximally flexible, and can be adapted to suit different research projects, teams and deliverables.

• My marking out which contributions (which columns) are authorship-worthy, authorship decisions are transparent, and team members have a clear understanding of pathways to authorship.

This approach is consistent with the key principles of the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), but has the flexibility for individual teams and projects to specify their own categories for credits across a wider range of outputs.

# data[].attributes.body
Web Content by Suzy J Styles
Sept 2022