koautor

Koautor is a term used in several languages to refer to a person who contributed substantially to the creation of a work and shares authorship with others. In scholarly publishing it denotes someone who meets established criteria for authorship and is listed as a coauthor alongside others. The concept also applies to books, reports, software, and media projects where multiple individuals contribute in different roles.

Authorship criteria vary by field and venue, but commonly require substantial intellectual input, participation in drafting or revising the work, and approval of the final version. In medicine and other disciplines, guidelines such as those from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) are often invoked, while many fields use the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to specify contributions like conceptualization, methodology, data curation, writing, and supervision. A person who contributed but does not meet these criteria may be acknowledged instead of listed as a coauthor.

Authorship order typically reflects the level of contribution, though practices differ by discipline; some projects also indicate equal contributions. The corresponding author usually handles communications with publishers. All koauthors share responsibility for the integrity of the work, and may be accountable for errors or misconduct to varying extents depending on the context.

Ethical considerations include avoiding ghost authorship (uncredited contributions) and guest authorship (crediting non-contributors). Clear, early agreements on roles and authorship can prevent disputes. Outside academia, coauthorship similarly signals joint ownership or collaboration and recognition of multiple contributors.