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<contrib> Contributor

Container element for information about a single author, editor, or other contributor to the article.

Usage/Remarks

The element <contrib> can be used to describe many contributors in addition to authors, including: editors, photographers, illustrators, directors, data curators, programmers, and research designers.
How to Name Contributor Roles
JATS contains two very different methods for naming the type of contribution made by an individual (also known as the role of a contributor):
  • the @contrib-type attribute (non-repeating) placed on the <contrib> element, and
  • the <role> element, which can be used within the <contrib> element (to describe the role of an individual contributor) or within the <contrib-group> (to indicate more than one contributor acting in the same role).
Historically (in JATS predecessor NLM DTD) the @contrib-type attribute was considered to be metadata for grouping authors or editors, etc. and the <role> element was the more likely to be used for screen or print display. For example, the <contrib> element’s @contrib-type attribute might have a value of “editor”, whereas the content of the <role> element could be “Associate Editor”. As another example, the <contrib> element’s @contrib-type attribute might be “author”, and the <role> element might contain “Principal Author”.
Why Use the <role> Element
More recently, in an effort to reflect more accurately the differing contributions of the many people involved in the writing of an article or the research behind the article, publishing practices have changed to be more specific about the roles of contributors. A single @contrib-type attribute value was not considered sufficient to describe a person’s full contributions, although @contrib-type may still be used for informal grouping, with a value such as “authors”.
The <role> element is now used both for machine-processable contributor details and for display because:
  • <role> elements can repeat, so one contributor can be credited with playing more than one role in the creation of an article.
  • The four JATS vocabulary attributes can tie the content of the <role> to an ontology or taxonomy, such as the NISO CRediT, Contributor Roles Taxonomy.
  • The <role> element has also proven useful to describe people in organizational roles or publication-specific roles that are not directly related to the article or the research behind the article (such as “Editor-in-Chief”).

Semantic Roles Best Practice

When the contributor role is described by a controlled vocabulary, such as the NISO CRediT, Contributor Roles Taxonomy, Best Practice is not to use the @contrib-type attribute to name a formal role for a contributor. (The attribute may still be useful for grouping.)
Best Practice is to use the <role> element inside <contrib> or inside <contrib-group> (for more than one contributor performing the same function) to name the role for each contributor. The vocabulary attributes on <role> should then point directly to the appropriate NISO CRediT, Contributor Roles Taxonomy term, allowing the content of the <role> element to take any useful display value, while still preserving the CRediT semantics.
Related Elements
Anonymous — The name of a contributor that is being withheld or is not known may be recorded using the EMPTY element <anonymous>, which is expected to cause text such an “Anonymous” or “anon.” to be generated for display or print.
Collaboration — Use the <collab> element for contributions by organizations or groups of people. Use the <on-behalf-of> element within the contributor information to indicate that a person has written as a representative of (on behalf of) an organization or group.
Attributes
contrib-type
corresp
deceased
equal-contrib
hreflang
rid
specific-use

Base Attributes

id
xml:base

Linking Attributes

xlink:actuate
xlink:href
xlink:role
xlink:show
xlink:title
xlink:type

Namespaces

xmlns:xlink
Models and Context
May be contained in
<contrib-group>
Description
The following, in order:
Content Model
<!ELEMENT  contrib      %contrib-model;                              >
Expanded Content Model

((contrib-id)*, (anonymous | collab | collab-alternatives | name | name-alternatives | string-name)*, (degrees)*, role*, on-behalf-of?, (aff | aff-alternatives)*, address*, email*, ext-link*, uri*, bio?, author-comment?)

Tagged Samples
With affiliation in <contrib-group> 
...
<contrib-group>
 <contrib contrib-type="author">
  <name name-style="western">
   <surname>McCrohan</surname>
   <given-names>John</given-names>
   <prefix>Capt.</prefix>
  </name>
  <aff>Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and 
   Drug Administration, Rockville, Maryland 20857</aff>
 </contrib>
</contrib-group>
...
...
<contrib-group>
 <contrib contrib-type="author">
  <name name-style="western">
   <surname>Nüsslin</surname>
   <given-names>Fridtjof</given-names>
   <prefix>Dr.</prefix>
  </name>
  <aff>Klinik für Strahlentherapie und Radiologische Onkologie,
   <institution>Technische Universität München</institution>, 
   Munich, Germany (Tel: 49-89-41404517, E-mail:
   <ext-link ext-link-type="email" xlink:href="mailto:nuesslin@lrz.tum.de">
   nuesslin@lrz.tum.de</ext-link>)</aff>
 </contrib>
</contrib-group>
...
<role> using CRediT terms 
...
<contrib-group>
 <contrib>
  <string-name><given-names>Barbara</given-names> <surname>Johnston</surname></string-name>
  <role vocab="CRediT" 
    vocab-identifier="http://credit.niso.org//"
    vocab-term="Conceptualization"
    vocab-term-identifier=
    "http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/conceptualization/"
    degree-contribution="lead">study designer</role>
 </contrib>
 <contrib>
  <string-name><given-names>Brooke</given-names> <surname>Jackson</surname></string-name>
  <role vocab="CRediT" 
    vocab-identifier="http://credit.niso.org/"
    vocab-term="Writing &#8212; original draft"
    vocab-term-identifier=
    "http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-original-draft/"
    degree-contribution="lead">writer</role>
 </contrib>
</contrib-group>
...
<role> with special characters
In CRediT attributes, characters need to be given as Unicode character references. In textual content, both Unicode references and general entities may be used. 
...
<contrib-group>
 <contrib>
  <string-name><given-names>Anne</given-names> <surname>Berns</surname></string-name>
  <role vocab="CRediT" 
    vocab-identifier="http://credit.niso.org/"
    vocab-term="Writing &#8212; original draft"
    vocab-term-identifier=
    "http://credit.niso.org/contributor-roles/writing-original-draft/"
    degree-contribution="lead">Article Author &ndash; Original Draft</role>
 </contrib>
</contrib-group>
...
Non-CRediT <role> 
...
<contrib-group>
 <contrib contrib-type="author">
  <name name-style="western">
   <surname>Foster</surname>
   <given-names>Bill</given-names>
   <prefix>Rep.</prefix>
  </name>
  <role>(IL-14)</role>
 </contrib>
</contrib-group>
...
With <collab> 
...
<article-meta>
 ...
 <contrib-group>
  <contrib contrib-type="author">
   <collab collab-type="committee">Accredited Standards Committee S3, 
    Bioacoustics</collab>
  </contrib>
 </contrib-group>
 <supplementary-material mime-subtype="zip" mimetype="application"
   xlink:href="ASASTD.ANSI.ASA.S3.50.supplementary-material.zip"/>
 ...
</article-meta>
...
Issue editors 
...
<contrib-group>
 <contrib contrib-type="issue-editor">
  <name><surname>Madison</surname>
   <given-names>Taylor</given-names></name>
  <role>Special Issue Editor</role>
 </contrib>
 <contrib contrib-type="issue-editor">
  <name><surname>McKinley</surname>
   <given-names>Grant</given-names></name>
  <role>Special Issue Editor</role>
 </contrib>
</contrib-group>
...
Conference editor 
...  
<contrib-group content-type="conference-editors">
 <contrib contrib-type="editor">
  <name name-style="western">
   <surname>Herrera</surname>
   <given-names>Gerardo</given-names>
  </name>
  <role>Conference Editor</role>
 </contrib>
</contrib-group>
...
Writing on behalf of a group 
...
<article-meta>
 ...
 <contrib-group>
  <contrib contrib-type="author">
   <name><surname>Forster</surname>
    <given-names>Anne</given-names></name>
   <role>research physiotherapist</role>
   <on-behalf-of>Multiple Sclerosis Collaborative
    Research Group</on-behalf-of>
   <aff id="StLukes">Department of Health
    Care for the Elderly, St Luke&#x2019;s Hospital,
    Bradford BD5 0NA</aff>
  </contrib>
 </contrib-group>
 ...
</article-meta>
...
Multiple language <name-alternatives> 
...
<contrib-group> 
 <contrib contrib-type="author">
  <name-alternatives>
   <name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="ja-Jpan">
    <surname>中西</surname>
    <given-names>秀彦</given-names>
   </name>
   <name name-style="western" xml:lang="en">
    <surname>Nakanishi</surname>
    <given-names>Hidehiko</given-names>
   </name>
   <name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="ja-Kana">
    <surname>ナカニシ</surname>
    <given-names>ヒデヒコ</given-names>
   </name>
  </name-alternatives>
 </contrib>
</contrib-group>
...
...
<contrib-group>
 <contrib contrib-type="author">  
  <name-alternatives>
   <name name-style="western"><surname>Zhang</surname>
    <given-names>Y. P.</given-names></name>
   <string-name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="zh">张轶泼</string-name>
  </name-alternatives>
 </contrib>
  
 <contrib contrib-type="author">
  <name-alternatives>
   <name name-style="western"><surname>Isobe</surname>
    <given-names>M.</given-names></name>
   <string-name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="zh">磯部光孝</string-name>
  </name-alternatives>
 </contrib>
  
 <contrib contrib-type="author">
  <name-alternatives>
   <name name-style="western"><surname>Liu</surname>
    <given-names>Yi</given-names></name>
   <string-name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="zh">刘仪</string-name>
  </name-alternatives>
 </contrib>
</contrib-group>
...
Using <author-comment> for an <aff> 
...
<contrib contrib-type="author">
 <name>
  <surname>Crutchley</surname>
  <given-names>Alison Claire</given-names>
 </name>
 <author-comment>
  <p>Independent scholar</p>
 </author-comment>
</contrib>
...
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