Beyond authorship: Analyzing disciplinary patterns of contribution statements using the CRediT taxonomy

Abstract

In this research article, we present the first cross-disciplinary descriptive analysis of the use of contribution statements. Our main objective is to obtain further insight on contributions by a variety of fields (Multidisciplinary, Health, Life, Physical, and Social Sciences) from the largest dataset used up to now. We examine more than 700,000 articles published between 2018 and 2023 in Elsevier and PLOS journals, in combination with bibliometric data extracted from the Scopus database. The descriptive analysis of the dataset focuses on the overall coverage of the merged data, the distribution of authorship and disciplines at paper level, and the interactions between contribution statements, author order, and disciplines. Our two main findings indicate that, on the one hand, looking at contributions and authorship order can enrich the way we understand science as a social endeavor. On the other hand, delving deeper into contributorship differences by field is key. We underscore the value of the Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT) in unveiling nuanced research dynamics and offering a more equitable framework for evaluation.