Harvard Medical School Ombuds Office Contacts:

• To schedule an appointment, contact Robin Cheung, M.Ed., Ombuds Coordinator | robin_cheung@hms.harvard.edu | 617-432-4041

• HMS/HSDM/HSPH Ombudsperson: Melissa Brodrick | Melissa_brodrick@hms.harvard.edu | 617-432-4040 | 617-513-1348

• HMS/HSDM/HSPH Associate Ombudsperson: Justin Neiman | justin_neiman@hms.harvard.edu | 617-432-4043 | 617-480-4700
• For additional information, visit the Harvard Medical School Ombuds Office Website.

CSPH Authorship Considerations*

General Expectations:

• Lead/1^st and senior authors should identify a preliminary list of authorship and roles at the inception of the project and (if applicable) prior to submitting a project proposal form (e.g., EPIC project REDCap form).
• Lead/1^st and senior authors should identify co-investigators early on and outline the specific contributions authorship opportunities tied to specific contributions (e.g., attendance of analytic meetings). Approach authorship with integrity and provide opportunities for authors’ involvement early on (e.g. soliciting input on analytic plan).
• Lead/1^st author writes the first draft of the majority of content, with contributions from 2nd/3^rd authors (and rest of authors once edited).
• Senior author should be heavily involved in designing the study and editing/drafting early versions of the manuscript.
• 2^nd /3^rd author(s) can each write a section of the manuscript (e.g., methods, discussion, tables) and edit tables/manuscript. 2^nd author makes the second largest contribution to the paper.
• Acknowledge your CSPH affiliation in abstracts and manuscripts. 

Anticipated Players:

1. Lead/1^st Generally, the researcher/individual who conceived the research project, responsible for statistical analyses, manuscript writing, overall integrity of data, publication, etc. (ICMJE= a + b + c + d)
2. 2^nd author. Co-Investigator, who helped in the conception or design, first to proofread the manuscript, or helped write portions of the manuscript. (ICMJE= b + c + d)
3. 3^rd author. Co-Investigator, who helped in acquisition of data, administrative, technical, or material support. (ICMJE= b + c + d)
4. Associated faculty. (ICMJE= b + c + d)
5. Collaborating institution faculty. (ICMJE= b + c + d)
6. CSPH faculty. (ICMJE= b + c + d)
7. Senior author (principal investigator), main surgery faculty. Mentor, person who conceived or helped design the research question. (ICMJE= a + b + c + d)
8. Statistician†, if involved. Responsible for data and stats methodological accuracy and integrity.
9. Other Research Staff (e.g. Project Manager, Research Assistants) making meaningful contributions to study design, data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation. 

To qualify for authorship, you must check at least one box in a and b. Moreover, all co-authors should qualify for c and d.

* Authorship considerations may be different for abstracts and presentations.

† Please consider the following when involving an analyst:

• Complex data cuts and creation of variables from administrative data require considerable time, effort, and statistical/analytical knowledge. Development of data sets is integral to study design and fulfills ICJME criterion A.
• Biostatistician faculty/staff who contribute intellectually to study design (i.e. study conception, design, statistical analyses, data structure, or interpretation of data) fulfills ICJME criteria A, regardless of who completes statistical analysis.
• For qualitative analysis: in-depth coding is time consuming and integral to the analysis and fulfills ICJME criterion A. Someone who may not have been directly involved in data collection (i.e. conducting interviews, focus groups), may still merit authorship if they were heavily involved in coding data.
• Coding consultation or minor input (i.e. single question answered in an email, recommendations made during seminar without substantive follow-up) does not merit co-authorship, acknowledgments are welcomed.

Click Here to Download the Faculty Orientation PowerPoint

The faculty orientation slide deck is intended for all new faculty members of CSPH to review. It contains the following information:

• An overview of CSPH, including our mission, vision, and values
• An introduction to our research fellowship program
• An explanation of our 4 core teams (quantitative core, qualitative core, training and mentorship core, and research management core) 
• Summary of resources and events available at CSPH
• How to access data for research at CSPH
• Faculty expectations for core and affiliate faculty 
• How to access communications support and media guidelines