Who writes, whose rights, and who's right? : issues in authorship

Editorial: Authorship is personally and professionally sensitive: collaborative relationships, careers and research team sustainability depend on demonstration of output, and publications are the easiest metric. One of the most common ethical issues editors encounter is authorship disputes. Most frequently, disputes arise because someone thinks that he/she has been omitted from a list of authors; however, there are also claims that individuals listed as authors are unwarranted. In addition to authorship disputes amongst research teams, it is increasingly common to encounter disputes between post-graduate research degree students and supervisors, or between the supervisors themselves.