Great Power or Great Responsibility: What Is the Meaning of ‘Corresponding Authorship’ in Modern Research?

Abstract

This white paper draws on expert interviews to explore the ways in which the concept of ‘corresponding authorship’ (CA) of publications has changed in recent years, starting from what was originally a set of discrete responsibilities in the peer review process. Insights from a new researcher survey reveals a lack of consensus across countries and disciplines about what the CA role really means, reflecting diverse incentives for authors to assume the CA role. Despite this, CA has become conflated with the notion of ‘leadership’ in multi-authored papers, a perception that has often gone unvalidated in scientometric studies with implications for evaluative practice.

Keywords: research evaluation, corresponding authorship

JEL Classification: C00