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INTRODUCTION
In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick were named as the authors of the publication “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids; a Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid” in the journal Nature (Watson and Crick 1953). While historians have debated the relevance and importance of various discoveries in molecular science (de Chadarevian 2002; Abir-Am and Elliott 2000) , there is little dispute as to the major significance of the discovery of the double-helix structure of deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA). But what of Rosalind Franklin? There is little mention in science manuals of the contribution of the biophysicist Rosalind Franklin to the discovery of the structure of DNA. Watson has admitted that he used Franklin’s unpublished experimental work without her knowledge, including her measurement of the repeating DNA unit and X-ray diffraction data showing the helical structure (Maddox 2003). While Watson and Crick were named on the paper, and later received the Nobel prize with a contributing colleague Maurice Wilkins, Franklin’s name was absent. If authorship practices at the time had recognized everyone who had substantially contributed to the research, perhaps science history would tell a different story. One can only wonder how Rosalind Franklin’s career would have progressed had her contribution been acknowledged. Would she have had more support leading to more scientific discoveries that could have shaped science in a different manner?
The expression “publish or perish” is an imperative in most disciplines, from the humanities and social sciences to the fundamental sciences, the health sciences, and other applied sciences (Clapham 2005; Beasley 2005; De Rond and Miller 2005; van Dalen and Henkens 2012). Authorship of published works is considered an increasingly important reward in the contemporary system of science (Latour 1989; Latour and Woolgar 1979). A researcher’s record of publication is a key criterion in the hiring, promotion, and tenure of researchers and professors, and a central consideration in deliberations to award grants, contracts, fellowships, and prizes (Shamoo and Resnik 2009).
Issues surrounding authorship-i.e., who should be named an author, in what order, based on what contribution, and with what responsibility-have increased in number and complexity with the significant growth of collaborative research, especially when it involves contributors from different disciplines, countries, and cultures. Unlike the relatively small team that discovered the structure of...