• Email Bluesky Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Whatsapp X The Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT) system was introduced in 2014 to clarify the roles of each author of a research paper (L. • Nature508, 312-313; 2014). • Your Comment, written by authors who had a central role in developing and promoting CRediT, argues that the types of contribution should be updated and extended (L. • Allenet al.Nature648, 33-34; 2025). • We agree that CRediT has improved transparency around authorship, which was its aim. • Access options Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription 27,99 €/ 30 days cancel any time Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access 185,98 € per year only 3,65 € per issue Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from$1.95 to$39.95 Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Nature650, 1070 (2026) doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00591-z Competing Interests The author declares no competing interests.

Article Summaries:

  • Summary

In a brief correspondence published in Nature, the author argues that the Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT) system should be expanded to capture the extent of each contributor’s involvement in a research project, not merely the type of role performed. The piece contends that recording contribution levels would improve transparency, accountability, and fairness in authorship attribution, and could help mitigate disputes over credit. The author calls for the taxonomy to be adopted more widely by journals and publishers, noting that such detailed attribution would better reflect the collaborative nature of modern scientific research.

    • CORRESPONDENCE The Contributor Role Taxonomy tool must serve to record extent of authorship Access options Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription 27,99 € / 30 days cancel any time Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access 185,98 € per year only 3,65 € per issue Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from$1.95 to$39.95 Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Nature 650, 1070 (2026) doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00591-z Competing Interests The

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