Singleauthor

Singleauthor refers to a work that is produced and credited to a single person with no co-authors or collaborators. In bibliographic practice, such works are described as sole-authored, and the author assumes full responsibility for the content, structure, and citations.

Across disciplines, the prevalence of singleauthor works varies. In many sciences, collaboration has risen and multi-author papers are common. In humanities and some social sciences, sole authorship remains more typical, though cross-disciplinary projects can involve teams.

Singleauthor works entail explicit accountability for all methodological choices, interpretations, and errors. They can reflect a coherent vision and a consistent voice, but they also carry risks of bias, gaps in expertise, and a higher workload for the author. The balance between independence and the breadth of needed knowledge often shapes the feasibility of solo projects.

Credit attribution in evaluation systems can differ for sole-authored works, affecting hiring, promotion, and funding decisions. Some metrics and review processes treat sole-authored pieces differently from co-authored ones, emphasizing contributions attributed to a single individual.

Notable examples of famous sole-authored works include Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859), Dawkins's The Selfish Gene (1976), and Hawking's A Brief History of Time (1988). In journalism and literature, many works continue to be produced by a single author, especially essays, monographs, and some novels.

Related terms include sole-author, solo author, and single-author article or paper.