Unit Standard
Title
School of Nursing: Standard on Authorship of Publications from Student Research or Other Scholarly Work
Introduction
Purpose
To be evaluated at next review.
Scope
To be evaluated at next review.
Standard
School of Nursing faculty are encouraged to support students in publishing and otherwise disseminating student research or other scholarly products. Faculty support may merit authorship through substantial contributions to the student’s project and the manuscript.
Student research and other scholarly work represent intellectual property that, while developed and conducted under faculty guidance, generally belong to the student. This ownership includes the right to disseminate the work through authorship of publications and presentations. Based on University Copyright Policy, exceptions include: (a) work based on data collected while engaged in faculty research for pay or academic credit, and (b) works authored by faculty with assistance from the student. In these cases, faculty own the work. For work based on data provided by faculty or other parties, data providers should be considered as authors – they are accountable for tracking actions taken on the data and maintaining data integrity.
The International Committee of Medical Journals Editors (ICMJE) states that authorship should be based on the following criteria:
- Conception and design, acquisition of the data, or data analysis and interpretation AND
- Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content AND
- Final approval of the version to be published AND
- Agreeing to be responsible for making sure that questions about accuracy or integrity are examined and resolved.
Authorship recommendations by the American Psychological Association (APA) also reflect substantial contributions to the study and the publication. Further, the APA suggests that providing advice about recruitment, data collection and management, data analysis and interpretation of the results should be acknowledged in the publication but not with authorship.
Author order varies by work group and discipline. The principal author's name – for student-led works, the student’s name - is generally listed first with subsequent authors listed by level of contribution or, when levels are similar, alpha order. Doctoral students typically have one or more of their advisory committee members as co- authors on manuscripts, if the committee members meet ICMJE criteria. Students may also include peer collaborators as co-authors, if these collaborators meet ICMJE criteria. The dissertation chair may elect to be listed last, which indicates senior author.
The optimum time for determining authorship is at the outset of a research study or other scholarly work. Faculty and students are encouraged to have a written agreement about publication of student work. The agreement should include time frame for manuscript preparation, who will assume specific roles in manuscript preparation and submission, and author order. Initial agreements about authorship and author order may evolve to reflect actual contributions to the work. That is, potential co-authors may forfeit authorship when their actual contributions don’t meet ICMJE criteria. When students work with data provided by faculty but have not progressed to manuscript preparation and publication submission in the agreed to length of time after completion of the work, faculty providing the data may independently publish the work as primary author, acknowledging the contributions of the student(s).
Negotiating authorship can be awkward. Students are encouraged to work with their research or scholarly work advisor (e.g.dissertation chair) in navigating the process. Should difficulties arise with the chair or other parties, students can bring concerns to the Program Associate Dean, who will promote resolution of the issue(s).
Suggested time for next review: 3 years
Use of AI as it relates to publication will be consistent with the International Standard for Authorship and the UNC-Chapel Hill policy for authorship and publication.
Exceptions
N/A
Contact Information
Primary Contact
Carol Durham, Faculty Chair
Other Contacts
N/A
Important Dates
- Effective Date and title of Approver: 9/14/2009 approved by the faculty
- Approved by the Faculty Executive Committee: March 2025