A guideline for the appropriate recognition of shared resource laboratories in publication

Abstract

The issue of what level of contribution warrants authorship, determining a fair order of authors and when and whom to acknowledge in publications is often a cause of debate, and in some instances, has also been a focus of conflict at certain institutions.Shared resource laboratories (SRLs) play a fundamental role in supporting publications, and SRL staff scientists can contribute to numerous areas such as experimental design, sample preparation, data acquisition, data analysis and manuscript drafting and review. However, SRL staff scientists are often unfairly omitted from the author list. To avoid SRLs and SRL staff scientist contributions going unnoticed, the authors have formulated a set of guidelines to aid in the conceptualization and recognition of the technical and intellectual contributions of SRLs. As a better understanding of the role SRL staff scientists play in the achievement of the scientific lead's experimental aims will foster a positive feedback loop, where acknowledgements can lead to more support and funding for SRLs and more engaged SRL staff capable of supporting discoveries and technological innovations that underpin major advancements in the field of life sciences.

Shared resource lab (SRL) strategies for supporting high‐dimensional cytometry data analysis

“…These technology platforms will also require significant technological knowhow and more SRL staff scientist involvement in methodology development and assay validation. In this context, appropriate SRL acknowledgement and authorship will need to be considered [7].…”

Guidelines for establishing a cytometry laboratory

“…It is crucial that SRLs are not evaluated solely on their ability to recover costs, but also on their contribution to scientific outputs [31][32][33]. Some scientific outputs, such as author or co-authorships, grant awards, or patent applications, are easy to measure.…”