[Rdap] Determining first author for datasets

[Megan Chenoweth]

Hello RDAP listserv,

Does anyone ever advise data depositors about the order in which to list
dataset creators/contributors as authors on the dataset? Or do you have any
guidelines on how to decide who is the first author?

A little context: the repository that I manage (NaNDA
<https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/nanda> on openICPSR) houses datasets
that are a) usually based on other data sources and b) not necessarily the
end result of one single study or publication. Dataset creation is usually
a joint effort by four roles:

   - Data analyst: one or more, who write code and create the actual
   datasets.
   - Postdocs: who define the kinds of measures they're interested in
   exploring for their publications and provide the theoretical framework for
   what goes into our datasets.
   - PI: the person who started NaNDA and directs everyone's work, but
   often is not involved in the minutiae of creating particular datasets.
   - Me: part project manager helping to facilitate dataset creation, part
   data curator writing documentation, tweaking variable names and labels, etc.

I have been listing them as: PI, data analyst(s), postdocs, me. Our PI
thinks it's not appropriate to list her first when others are more directly
involved. But of the three other roles, we're not sure what kind of effort
(technical or intellectual) is the most appropriate to recognize first or
last (the two positions that, my PI tells me, count the most for tenure and
promotion considerations in her field).

I'm really curious to hear what the rest of RDAP thinks, and whether this
has come up in any conversations with the data creators/depositors you work
with.

Thank you for any input you care to share!

-- 
Megan Chenoweth (she/her)
Data Manager/Curator, Social Environment and Health
Institute for Social Research | University of Michigan
426 Thompson St. #3350
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248
734-936-0649 | mmchenow at umich.edu
NaNDA <https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/nanda> | Americans' Changing
Lives <https://acl.isr.umich.edu/>
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