Open Research and Publishing
Library Academic and Cultural Services
CRediT Taxonomy: Recognising Research Contributions
A guide to supporting fair and transparent research contributions using the Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT).
Contributor Statement:
Michael Duncan (Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing)
Moya Fox (Conceptualisation)
Nicola Milne (Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing)
Open Research and Publishing Library Academic and Cultural Services
University of Dundee
Main Library
Cross Row
DD14HN
First Published July 2025
DOI: 10.20933/100001406
Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. All images, figures, and other thirdparty materials included are the copyright of their respective rights holders, unless otherwise stated. Resue of these materials may require separate permission.
Introduction to CRediT
Research is carried out by individuals, teams, departments, and often through international collaborations. In academia, the findings are typically shared through publications and traditionally, only those listed as authors receive formal credit. But this doesn’t reflect the full range of people whose contributions made the research possible.
The Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) is a standardised framework that defines 14 distinct roles people can play in the development of research. It goes beyond traditional authorship to acknowledge the full range of contributions, from conceptualisation and data curation to project administration and software development.
By promoting transparency and fairness, CRediT supports a more inclusive and respectful research culture that recognises all contributors, not just those listed as authors.
This brief guide introduces principles behind CRediT, what the 14 roles are, and how the taxonomy can be used in practice. It is designed to help research teams identify, understand, and fairly attribute contributions throughout the research lifecycle.
Contributions from our research community are included throughout this guide to illustrate how CRediT can make a meaningful difference to current research practices.
“Recognition of research contributions beyond authorship is critical for the visibility and recognition of roles that might not have been seen in the past, such as technicians. Technical staff give significant and critical support for research activities that, frequently, goes beyond what would normally be understood as technical delivery. In this area, for example, they often work in the development of innovative solutions that can be part of the discovery of new knowledge. As such, engagement in research activities is a key activity that allows the building of specialist skills and growth of professional knowledge.
“A positive culture where contributions are recognised supports a healthy working environment where staff can develop in their roles. It is an opportunity for staff to extend what they do, develop a specialism and to build their professional network. This helps with professional development, career progression and staff retention; it makes an institution the kind of place people want to work. It is hugely beneficial that the CRediT taxonomy will provide some parity of recognition, which also has benefit for our students by bringing greater visibility to what staff are working on and where their specialisms are.”
Andrew Dodds, School Operations Manager, School of Art and Design and University Technician Champion, University of Dundee
Why CRediT Matters
Adopting CRediT encourages a positive research culture where all colleagues who conduct and enable research are acknowledged appropriately for their contribution. It encourages early, clear communication within research teams, setting out expectations and responsibilities at the outset. It also supports the professional development of everyone involved in research, especially underrepresented roles such as technicians, data managers, and project coordinators. This approach aligns with principles of the Technician Commitment which the University of Dundee is a signatory to.
Benefits of using CRediT
• Gives appropriate credit and recognition to all contributors across all aspects of research
• Open and transparent approach to recognising and acknowledging contributions
• Widely used and standardised way to acknowledge contributions
• Reduces ambiguity or potential disputes around contributions.
“Too often have I heard negative comments from technicians and support staff who feel like a number or just a pair of hands. CRediT will allow recognition of their efforts in a standardised way that will be transferable across the sector. When all contributions are recognised it creates a thriving research culture where people feel valued.”
Jennifer Gallagher, Laboratory Manager, School of Life Sciences and University Technician Champion, University of Dundee
CrediT also helps from a policy perspective. The University Code of good practice in research and Policy to govern the publication of research requires for acknowledgement to be given beyond traditional author lists. Using the CRediT taxonomy meets this requirement in a way that is recognised across academia.
“In the film/TV industry the producer is often the most important person, along with director. They are essentially the project manager and visionary and will organise everything involved in the production. The producer’s name is often mentioned very prominently in the credits and on film posters. In academia, however, this role is often diminished and seen as a background administrative one.
“Acknowledging the work of producers, technicians and other specialists helps them evidence their contribution to a project’s success.”
Adam Lockhart, Lecturer in Media Art and Archives, DJCAD, University of Dundee
The 14 Contributor Roles (CRediT)
Role Plain-English Description
Example
Conceptualization Developed the research idea and framework Came up with the core hypothesis
Data Curation Managed and maintained research data Cleaned and preserved datasets
Formal Analysis Performed statistical or analytical techniques Conducted statistical modelling
Funding Acquisition Secured funding for the project Wrote the funding proposal
Investigation Carried out the research/experiments
Ran lab tests or interviews
Methodology Designed methods or models Developed protocols for lab work
Project Administration Managed timelines, tasks, and workflow Coordinated team meetings and milestones
Resources Provided materials, equipment, software, or tools
Digitised archival materials
Software Developed or programmed software used in the research Coded data analysis scripts
Supervision Oversaw and advised on the project Acted as PhD supervisor
Validation Verified the results or methods Checked reproducibility of experiments
Visualization Created charts, diagrams, and data visualisation Designed figures for publication
Writing – Original Draft Wrote the first version of the manuscript
Drafted the full paper
Writing – Review & Editing Revised the manuscript critically Reviewed and edited for publication
Table 1: Sourced from CRediT Taxonomy website: https://credit.niso.org/
Where to use CRediT in your research
The adoption of CRediT is still in transition and publishers are at different stages of implementation. When using CRediT keep in mind:
• Individuals can have more than one role
• Roles can be assigned to multiple individuals
• Non-author contributors can be assigned roles
• There are 14 defined roles but not all of them need to be used on a single output
Author Lists
An increasing number of journals now include CRediT roles within the author contribution section. This allows authors to clarify the specific nature of each contributor’s role, for example, who led on conceptualisation, data curation, or methodology.
CRediT Statements in the Acknowledgements
Some publishers permit CRediT roles to appear in the acknowledgements section. This is a good way of recognising individuals who are not authors on an output but whose contributions are vital to the wider research process, such as research assistants, technicians, or project co-ordinators.
Several publishers currently support CRediT in the author list or acknowledgements:
• Elsevier
• PLOS
• Sage
Example of a CRediT statement:
• Springer Nature
• Taylor & Francis
• Wiley
Amina Yusuf (Conceptualization, Writing – original draft), Samuel Chen (Methodology, Formal analysis), Riley Evans (Writing – original draft, Data curation), Isla MacLeod (Investigation, Writing – original draft), Thandiwe Mbatha (Validation, Resources), Nisha Patel (Funding acquisition, Resources)* , Jorge Oliveira (Project Administration)* .
*These are examples of non-authorship contributions being included in a CRediT Statement.
Self-Publishing
You don’t need permission to use the CRediT Taxonomy so it can be included when you are responsible for the design and formatting of outputs such as infographics, reports, or other digital materials. Include a CRediT statement to acknowledge the contributions of the research team.
“Including CRediT statements on self-published materials such as reports, public engagement materials, and videos on the Discovery Research Portal provides formal recognition to all involved and an accessible location to evidence, measure, and report on their contributions.
Dr Amy Cameron, Public Engagement and Communications Officer, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee
Credit Taxonomy Register
Producing a CRediT statement is easier when research contributors and their roles are logged early in the research process.
A useful tool for this is the CRediT Taxonomy Register, a standardised register that allows the recording of names and research contributions using the CRediT Taxonomy.
Below is an example of the CRediT Taxonomy Register:
Contributor Name Role(s)
Callum Fraser
Riley Evans
Authorship Y/N Notes
Conceptualization, Writing – Original Draft Yes
Data Curation, Validation No
Led literature review
Managed and checked data
Populating this at the start of a project or before producing an output means a list of names and contributions can be easily extracted for a CRediT statement. Share it with colleagues so they can identify and add their own contribution
“We have adopted the use of the contributions table to ensure that all authors are appropriately recognised for their contributions. At the later stages of manuscript preparation, a blank copy of the table is circulated, and all authors are invited to indicate their initials in the relevant categories. This process also serves as a prompt to ensure that individuals who are not authors, but who should be acknowledged, are duly recognised,”
Nicola Stanley-Wall, Professor of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee
Pure/Discovery Research Portal
CRediT is due to be integrated into Pure, the software that underpins the institutional research repository. This will make it easier to record and report on all research contributions The Library are monitoring this development and will provide updates when it is released. In the meantime, researchers can add CRediT statements to the Author Accepted Manuscripts and self-published works that are uploaded to the Discovery Research Portal.
How to use CRediT in your research
For technicians and research support staff
• Identify how your work maps to a CRediT role
• Advocate for being credited in outputs, even without authorship
• Check if you have a profile on the Discovery Research Portal and update it regularly.
For PIs and supervisors
• Include role conversations in project setup meetings
• Encourage staff to document their contributions, even those without authorship responsibilities
• Ensure credit is distributed fairly (if someone’s work was essential to the project, acknowledge them).
For all team members
• Discuss contributor roles early in the research process
• Review and update roles before submission of outputs or project end
• Use the taxonomy to acknowledge non-author contributors
• Download the CRediT Taxonomy Register to use as a template for recording roles within the team.
“Individuals who aren't academic researchers contribute knowledge to research in many different ways. For example, public engagement professionals can help ensure public voices are part of the research and evaluate the impact of this in the context of research and public experience. These contributions aren't always recognised within traditional authorship of research. It is significant to recognise all of the different people who contribute to meaningful and impactful research. For these individuals it can help them evidence their contributions in job applications.”
Heather Doran, Public Engagement Manager, Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, School of Science and Engineering, University of Dundee
Learn More and Get Support
For University of Dundee colleagues looking for more information on CRediT and how to use it, contact Open Research & Publishing via email: discovery@dundee.ac.uk.
- CRediT Taxonomy website
- CRediT Taxonomy Register: a practical tool for applying CRediT taxonomy
- Open Research & Publishing website
- Open Research SharePoint
- Open Research Leads Network
Open Research & Publishing
Library, Academic and Cultural Services
University of Dundee
Main Library
Cross Row
DD14HN
DOI: 10.20933/100001406
e: discovery@dundee.ac.uk