NCRC Conversation Series

This session shares the University of Sheffield’s ongoing work to support fairer recognition of everyone who contributes to research.

Following two 2025 workshops with Technicians, the University published guidance on using the Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT) to capture and attribute contributions in published research. In 2026, interviews with academics and Technicians explored how authorship and contribution recognition work in practice, how approaches differ across disciplines, and which examples could be shared as good practice.

CRediT is not a complete solution—and cannot capture every contributor or contribution in every discipline—but it has opened valuable conversations about authorship and contributorship. The findings also suggest that fairer attribution becomes embedded when two conditions are present: a local leader championing change and recognition mechanisms built into everyday team practices.

As Sheffield continues to embed fairer attribution across the University, recognising the full range of contributions to research will remain a key part of its wider research culture work.

Read more about the project here.

Read Sheffield’s CRediT guidance here.

Dr Holly Ranger is the Head of Open Research at the University of Sheffield Library and is the operational lead for the University’s Office for Open Research and Scholarship. Holly leads the development and delivery of library services to support open research and research data management, and leads projects located at the intersection of open research, research culture, and research integrity. Their recent projects have included work to increase the recognition, attribution, and professionalisation of research professionals (including Technicians, data stewards, and librarians) and to develop support and services for the production, recognition, and dissemination of Diverse Output Types.