The requirements in Guideline 14(interner Link) of the Code (“genuine, identifiable contribution”) have been extended as compared to the definition of authorship in Recommendation 11 of the DFG memorandum (“substantial contribution”). An author is now defined as someone who has made an identifiable (not necessarily substantial), genuine (original/individual) contribution to the scientific content of, for example, a publication (not necessarily the text) and is responsible for a scientifically relevant accomplishment. Whether or not a contribution is genuine and identifiable has to be assessed in each individual case and will depend on the respective subject area.

Focusing on a “significant” contribution does not always do sufficient justice to the scientific work done by the individual researcher. Collating a large quantity of partial results, each of which is identifiable and genuine in its own right, can also constitute a valuable contribution in its entirety, even if this individual contribution were not absolutely necessary for the success of the project as a whole. One good example of this shift in the definition of authorship is a worldwide gene database where numerous researchers enter individual pieces of information. Only the totality of the contributions makes it possible to derive insights: here, an individual who has contributed to the collection of data can be defined as an author if the nature of this person’s contribution to the collection of data is considered a genuine scientific contribution within the respective subject-specific community.