Several years ago, we conducted a survey of academic chemists in Ph.D. granting institutions in the U.S on credit issues. Six hundred faculty members responded. Half of the respondents reported <i>not</i> receiving credit for contributions they felt they deserved. The vast majority of these individuals did not discuss this lack of credit with the “offending” individual for two primary reasons: they “could not imagine any good coming from such a conversation” and “I was afraid of being in a compromised situation.” The respondents reported significant context-dependency in their behavior regarding giving credit. Faculty who received their Ph.D. over sixty years ago are the most generous in providing authorship while those who received their Ph.D. in the last 25 years are the least generous. Regarding giving credit, intellectual contributions were considered the single most important criterion, although making a single suggestion that was essential to the successful completion of a project was rated very low. Rgarding their own behaviors toward giving or not giving credit, doing what “seems to be the right thing” was rated highest followed by graduate educational experiences; professional society and institutional codes were rated the lowest. A number of recommendations will be given.<br/>

Authorship issues and conflict in the U.S. academic chemical community

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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