title: Honorary Authorship Practices in Environmental Science Teams: Structural and Cultural Factors and Solutions.
abstract: Overinclusive authorship practices such as honorary or guest authorship have been widely reported, and they appear to be exacerbated by the rise of large interdisciplinary collaborations that make authorship decisions particularly complex. Although many studies have reported on the frequency of honorary authorship and potential solutions to it, few have probed how the underlying dynamics of large interdisciplinary teams contribute to the problem. This article reports on a qualitative study of the authorship standards and practices of six National Science Foundation-funded interdisciplinary environmental science teams. Using interviews of the lead principal investigator and an early-career member on each team, our study explores the nature of honorary authorship practices as well as some of the motivating factors that may contribute to these practices. These factors include both structural elements (policies and procedures) and cultural elements (values and norms) that cross organizational boundaries. Therefore, we provide recommendations that address the intersection of these factors and that can be applied at multiple organizational levels.
authors: a Lyman Briggs College , Michigan State University , East Lansing , Michigan , USA.|b Department of Fisheries and Wildlife , Michigan State University , East Lansing , Michigan , USA.|c Department of Philosophy , Michigan State University , East Lansing , Michigan , USA.
authors: Kevin C
authors: KC
authors: Elliott
authors: d Department of Psychology , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan , USA.|e Department of Afroamerican and African Studies , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan , USA.
authors: Isis H
authors: IH
authors: Settles
authors: a Lyman Briggs College , Michigan State University , East Lansing , Michigan , USA.|f Department of History , Michigan State University , East Lansing , Michigan , USA.
authors: Georgina M
authors: GM
authors: Montgomery
authors: g Department of Psychology , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan , USA.
authors: Sheila T
authors: ST
authors: Brassel
authors: a Lyman Briggs College , Michigan State University , East Lansing , Michigan , USA.|b Department of Fisheries and Wildlife , Michigan State University , East Lansing , Michigan , USA.
authors: Kendra Spence
authors: KS
authors: Cheruvelil
authors: b Department of Fisheries and Wildlife , Michigan State University , East Lansing , Michigan , USA.
authors: Patricia A
authors: PA
authors: Soranno
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001319:Authorship / Q000592:standards*; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000592:standards*; D004463:Ecology / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D011643:Publishing / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards*; D036301:Qualitative Research
keywords: honorary authorship; inclusive research practices; interdisciplinary teams; research ethics; team science