Acknowledgement and Co-authorship

The platform’s contributions to research outputs (e.g., publications, presentations, posters) should be acknowledged where possible. These contributions could include:

  • paid technical help and services
  • accessing research equipment
  • scientific advice
  • writing assistance.

Proper acknowledgement enables us to demonstrate our value to the research community and highlight our impact on research excellence, which is critical to securing continued funding for our services. Our staff are also researchers with extensive experience and citing them helps to advance their careers.

In cases where substantial intellectual and experimental contributions were made by platform staff, co-authorship must also be offered in accordance with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, regardless of whether payment was made for the services. Researchers should also notify the platform of any publications arising from the support provided by our staff, regardless of whether a co-authorship is offered.

Learn more about how to acknowledge us:

All publications resulting from the use of our services and facilities should include this acknowledgement:

‘The authors acknowledge the La Trobe University [Platform Name] for [support received].’

e.g., The authors acknowledge the La Trobe University Proteomics and Metabolomics Platform for the provision of instrumentation, training and technical support.

OR

e.g., The authors acknowledge the La Trobe University Statistics Consultancy Platform for providing advice on statistical analysis.

If you received significant assistance, guidance or help from our platform staff, or where staff have personally generated research data, they should be acknowledged by name:

‘The authors thank [Staff Name] from the La Trobe University [Platform Name] for [his/her/their] support and guidance in this work.’

e.g., The authors thank [Staff Name] from the La Trobe University Proteomics and Metabolomics Platform for collecting and analysing data for proteomics studies, shown in Figure X.

If a platform staff contribute more than just routine techniques or advice, they should be invited to be a co-author on the publications that describe the data. This applies to the development or adaptation of protocols to suit specific experiments, samples or materials, (re)design of experiments, and extensive data analysis and interpretation.

Co-authorship is independent of whether payment was made for the work/ service.