Other Titles
Successful Multi-Author Publication: Questions for Responsive Respectful Teamwork and Some Lessons Learned [Title Slide]
Abstract
When two or more professionals engage in a scholarship project to develop and publish a journal manuscript, numerous questions could be considered at the outset for best outcomes. An international 10-person effort of Sigma colleagues to publish a manuscript followed a general collaborative plan of ten rules for such an initiative (Frassl et al., 2018). The purpose of this presentation is to describe how these rules spawned questions and actions for a successful publication outcome. Lessons learned may also inform others. Being responsive and respectful in an international collaboration supports scholarly productivity.
Questions considered: What journals and impact factors meet expectations for a search of journal descriptions and Author Guidelines? How is the final journal choice to be made? With different cultures, language skills, first languages, and writing styles, how will the writing team be configured? Who will serve as the leader for manuscript development and interactions with the journal Editor? How will work be communicated, stored, and shared as the manuscript progresses? How will the authors’ names be listed for order and credentials? How will “who does what” be determined? What are any common directions for writing such as in active voice or use of a writing style for text and References? What are the timelines for submissions and reviews? How often will authors meet to ensure transparency and input? What plans are enacted to assure equity, diversity, and inclusion? How are ethical considerations addressed?
In a final Zoom call after publication, the ten authors interacted to share their experiences.The authors appreciated that the leader managed smaller things such as grammar but they were involved in bigger topics such as major Editor requirements for revision. Timely information made the authors feel directly involved in the work and motivated to continue. Prior experience with one another in Sigma made a desire for success important to them.The leader's one-on-one contacts to discuss manuscript parts promoted responsiveness and respect. This approach was said to increase feelings of common ownership in the final product and a positive feeling about providing leadership in the future with others in their own settings. The leader reported the importance of listening to all input from the authors and Editor and of creating relationships over the 15 months that could result in a successful publication outcome.
Notes
References:
Borer, E., MacDougall, A., Stevens, C., Sullivan, L., Wilfahrt, P., & Seabloom, E. (2023). Writing a massively multi-authored paper: Overcoming barriers to meaningful authorship for all. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 14(6), 1432-1442. doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.14096
Frassl, M., Hamilton, D., Denfeld, B., de Eyto, E., Hampton, S., Keller, P., Sharma, S.,...Catalan, N. (2018). Ten simple rules for collaboratively writing a multi-authored paper. PLOS Computational Biology, 14(11), 1-8. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006509
Masud, N., Masuadi, E., Moukaddem, A., Omair, A., Mohamud, M., Al Dubayee, M., Althubaiti, A....ALJasser, M. (2020). Development and validation of authorship order score (AOS) for scientific publication, 6(3), 434-443. doi: 10,1016/j/hpe.2020.04.006
Sethy, S. (2020). Responsible conduct of research and ethical publishing practices: A proposal to resolve "authorship disputes" over multi-author paper publication. Journal of Academic Ethics, 18(3), 283-300.
Yamane, L. (2019). Academe must properly credit the work in co-authored publications (opinion). Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved October 28, 2020 from https://www.insidehighered.com
Sigma Membership
Eta, Theta Zeta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Global Leadership, Mentoring, Coaching, Global Collaborations, Professional Writing, Scholarly Writing, Writing for Publication
Recommended Citation
Welk, Dorette Sugg, "Successful Multi-Author Publication: Responsive Respectful Teamwork and Lessons Learned" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 6.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/6
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-17
Successful Multi-Author Publication: Responsive Respectful Teamwork and Lessons Learned
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
When two or more professionals engage in a scholarship project to develop and publish a journal manuscript, numerous questions could be considered at the outset for best outcomes. An international 10-person effort of Sigma colleagues to publish a manuscript followed a general collaborative plan of ten rules for such an initiative (Frassl et al., 2018). The purpose of this presentation is to describe how these rules spawned questions and actions for a successful publication outcome. Lessons learned may also inform others. Being responsive and respectful in an international collaboration supports scholarly productivity.
Questions considered: What journals and impact factors meet expectations for a search of journal descriptions and Author Guidelines? How is the final journal choice to be made? With different cultures, language skills, first languages, and writing styles, how will the writing team be configured? Who will serve as the leader for manuscript development and interactions with the journal Editor? How will work be communicated, stored, and shared as the manuscript progresses? How will the authors’ names be listed for order and credentials? How will “who does what” be determined? What are any common directions for writing such as in active voice or use of a writing style for text and References? What are the timelines for submissions and reviews? How often will authors meet to ensure transparency and input? What plans are enacted to assure equity, diversity, and inclusion? How are ethical considerations addressed?
In a final Zoom call after publication, the ten authors interacted to share their experiences.The authors appreciated that the leader managed smaller things such as grammar but they were involved in bigger topics such as major Editor requirements for revision. Timely information made the authors feel directly involved in the work and motivated to continue. Prior experience with one another in Sigma made a desire for success important to them.The leader's one-on-one contacts to discuss manuscript parts promoted responsiveness and respect. This approach was said to increase feelings of common ownership in the final product and a positive feeling about providing leadership in the future with others in their own settings. The leader reported the importance of listening to all input from the authors and Editor and of creating relationships over the 15 months that could result in a successful publication outcome.
Description
When two or more professionals engage in a scholarship project to develop and publish a journal manuscript, numerous questions arise. An international 10-person effort of Sigma colleagues followed a collaborative plan of ten rules (Frassl et al., 2018). The purpose of this presentation is to describe how these rules spawned questions and actions for a successful publication outcome in a respectful responsive way. Lessons learned may also inform others.