CRediT · 8 worked examples

Author contributions examples

Paste-ready CRediT author statements for the situations researchers most often face — biomedical and clinical papers, lab and computational science, single-author work, acknowledged contributors and large consortia. Copy any block straight into your manuscript and edit the names and roles.

Build your own →Format guide

Worked CRediT author contribution statements across research disciplines

How to use these examples

Every block below is a complete, ready-to-paste “CRediT authorship contribution statement” using the canonical wording of the 14 CRediT roles. The names are illustrative — replace them with your own and keep only the roles that genuinely apply. Roles are non-exclusive, so most authors will carry several. Where two or more people share a role, the optional lead, equal or supporting qualifier signals who took primary responsibility. To generate a statement from your own author list automatically, use the CRediT statement builder.

Example 1

Biomedical research paper (5 authors)

The most common shape: a first author who conceived and drafted the study, a methods/analysis lead, a data-collection author, a senior supervisor, and a contributor who secured funding and revised. Lead/equal qualifiers are used where roles are shared.

Biomedical research paper (5 authors)

text

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Zhang San: Conceptualization (lead), Methodology, Writing – original draft. Priya Patel: Data curation (lead), Investigation, Writing – review & editing. Erin Wright: Formal analysis (lead), Visualization. Adam Lloyd: Supervision, Validation. Maria García-López: Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing.

Example 2

Clinical trial (multi-role, ICMJE-aligned)

Clinical work leans on Investigation (running the trial), Resources (recruiting patients, providing samples) and Validation. Pair the CRediT statement with your journal’s ICMJE authorship statement — they answer different questions.

Clinical trial (multi-role, ICMJE-aligned)

text

CRediT authorship contribution statement

A. Okafor: Conceptualization, Methodology (lead), Writing – original draft. B. Nguyen: Investigation (equal), Resources, Project administration. C. Rossi: Investigation (equal), Data curation. D. Haddad: Formal analysis, Validation (lead). E. Thompson: Supervision, Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing.

Example 3

Laboratory / bench science (4 authors)

Bench studies foreground Investigation (performing experiments) and Resources (reagents, instrumentation). A senior PI often carries Supervision plus Funding acquisition.

Laboratory / bench science (4 authors)

text

CRediT authorship contribution statement

R. Mehta: Conceptualization, Investigation (lead), Visualization, Writing – original draft. S. Larsson: Methodology, Investigation (supporting), Validation. T. Yamamoto: Resources, Data curation. L. Fernandes: Supervision, Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing.

Example 4

Computational / data-science paper (3 authors)

Software and Formal analysis become first-class roles here. Use the Software role for everyone who wrote or tested code, and Data curation for those who cleaned and documented datasets.

Computational / data-science paper (3 authors)

text

CRediT authorship contribution statement

J. Park: Conceptualization, Software (lead), Formal analysis, Writing – original draft. K. Abebe: Software (supporting), Data curation, Validation. M. Dubois: Methodology, Supervision, Writing – review & editing.

Example 5

Single-author paper

Even solo papers benefit from a CRediT statement: list every role you actually performed. It signals that the work spanned conception through analysis and writing, and satisfies journals that require the section regardless of author count.

Single-author paper

text

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Helen Carter: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Funding acquisition.

Example 6

With an acknowledged (non-author) contributor

A medical writer or technician who contributed below your journal’s authorship bar still gets CRediT — in the acknowledgements, not the byline. CRediT records the contribution; authorship criteria decide the byline.

With an acknowledged (non-author) contributor

text

CRediT authorship contribution statement

P. Andersson: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing – original draft. Q. Silva: Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing – review & editing.

Acknowledgements
Medical writing support was provided by J. Rowe (Writing – original draft, supporting), funded by the study sponsor. R. Boateng (Resources) supplied the assay reagents.

Example 7

Large consortium / collaborative group

For very large author lists, journals often accept role groups: list the named authors with their roles, then attribute shared roles (e.g. Investigation) to a named consortium. Keep each role pointing at the same controlled vocabulary.

Large consortium / collaborative group

text

CRediT authorship contribution statement

U. Khan: Conceptualization (lead), Methodology, Writing – original draft. V. Müller: Formal analysis, Data curation. W. Tan: Project administration, Funding acquisition (lead). The GENOME-2026 Study Group: Investigation, Resources. X. Oduya & Y. Petrova: Writing – review & editing.

The step most authors miss

You’ve written your CRediT statement. Now make it count.

A CRediT statement credits you inside one paper. The recognition CRediT was built for happens when those roles are tied to you, persistently. Sign in with your ORCID — free — and claim your CRediT contributions on casrai.org, the home of the standard. They become a verified, portable part of your identity, not a line that disappears into one PDF.

Free: claim your contributions, then export a journal-ready CRediT statement, schema.org structured data, JATS XML, CSV or BibTeX — and preview your public profile. A membership publishes that profile publicly and verifies the journals you serve.

Common questions

Author contributions examples — FAQ

What is an example of an author contributions statement?+

A typical CRediT example reads: “Zhang San: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft. Priya Patel: Data curation, Investigation, Writing – review & editing.” Each author is named and followed by the CRediT roles they performed, optionally with a lead, equal or supporting qualifier.

How do I write author contributions for a single-author paper?+

List every CRediT role you actually performed. For a solo paper that usually spans Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft and Writing – review & editing, plus any others such as Software or Funding acquisition that apply.

Where do acknowledged contributors appear?+

Contributors who do not meet your journal’s authorship criteria — for example medical writers or technical staff — receive their CRediT roles in the acknowledgements rather than the byline. CRediT records what they did; the authorship criteria decide who is named as an author.

Are these examples free to reuse?+

Yes. CRediT and the worked examples on this page are released under CC-BY 4.0, so you can adapt and reuse them in manuscripts, templates and training materials with attribution.

Going deeper

Related on CASRAI

The step most authors miss

Author contributions examples

How to use these examples

Biomedical research paper (5 authors)

Clinical trial (multi-role, ICMJE-aligned)

Laboratory / bench science (4 authors)

Computational / data-science paper (3 authors)

Single-author paper

With an acknowledged (non-author) contributor

Large consortium / collaborative group

Mixed-methods social science (3 authors)

You’ve written your CRediT statement. Now make it count.

Author contributions examples — FAQ

Related on CASRAI

Doing CRediT right? Don’t stop at the statement.