HANDLING A LATE ADDITION OF A NEW AUTHOR TO AN ACCEPTED ARTICLE
2024-02-12
The journal recently received a request from the sole author of an accepted article to add a second author, claiming that they had forgotten to include them earlier. However, the journal is concerned about the potential for the new author to receive undue credit if their contribution to the article is minimal or nonexistent.
COPE Advice:
- Pause Publication: The journal should halt the publication process for the article in question.
- Investigation: The editor should contact the original author to request a detailed explanation of the circumstances surrounding the late addition of the new author, including their contributions to the article.
- Consult the New Author: Simultaneously, the editor should reach out to the new author to obtain their perspective on the situation and inquire about their contributions to the article.
- Assess Responses: Based on the responses received, the journal can decide whether to allow the addition of the new author, continue the investigation (which may involve seeking additional information from the institution), or reject the addition altogether.
- Consider Acknowledgment: If it's determined that the new author's contribution does not warrant authorship, the journal may suggest acknowledging their involvement in the article instead.
Preventative Measures:
- The journal may consider implementing a policy requiring authors to specify their contributions upon submission to prevent similar incidents in the future.
- Even if contribution statements are not standard practice, extraordinary circumstances like this warrant clarification on each author's role in the research.
By following these steps and implementing preventive measures, the journal can ensure transparency and fairness in authorship attribution while upholding scholarly integrity.
