Graduate Students and the Culture of Authorship

Abstract

In the last 50 years, multiauthored publications have become more prevalent, given the increasing number of collaborative, interdisciplinary, multicenter research studies. The determination of authorship credit and order is a difficult process, especially for graduate students, whose disadvantaged power position in research settings increases their vulnerability to exploitation. The American Psychological Association has published ethical standards for determining authorship credit, but the power difference inherent in the student–faculty relationship may complicate this ethical dilemma. The authors reviewed a number of previously recommended strategies and proposed that determining authorship credit is most effectively facilitated through professional development.