Conceptualization

In practice — medical research context

When this role applies

Encoding

Use in your systems

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/credit"
      vocab-term="Conceptualization"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/credit/roles/conceptualization" />

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "@id": "https://casrai.org/credit/roles/conceptualization",
  "name": "Conceptualization",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/credit/roles/conceptualization",
  "description": "Ideas; formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/credit",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/credit/roles/conceptualization",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "bibliographicCitation": "CASRAI Editorial Board (2026). Conceptualization — CRediT contributor role (v2022.1). CASRAI. https://casrai.org/credit/roles/conceptualization",
  "citation": "https://casrai.org/credit/citation",
  "dateModified": "2022-08-01",
  "version": "2022.1",
  "inLanguage": "en",
  "audience": {
    "@type": "Audience",
    "audienceType": "Researchers, editors, publishers, librarians"
  }
}

<contributor sequence="additional" contributor_role="author">
  <given_name>Jane</given_name>
  <surname>Doe</surname>
  <ORCID>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-XXXX-XXXX</ORCID>
  <credit_roles>
    <credit_role vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/credit/roles/conceptualization">Conceptualization</credit_role>
  </credit_roles>
</contributor>

Identifiers

Persistent identifiers

Frequently asked

Common questions about Conceptualization

What does the "Conceptualization" CRediT role mean?

Ideas; formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims.

How do I cite "Conceptualization" in an author contribution statement?

Per ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022, list the contributor's name followed by their CRediT role(s). Example: "A. Smith — Conceptualization". You can add an optional degree qualifier (lead / equal / supporting) when several authors share a role. See CASRAI's author-statement guidance at https://casrai.org/credit/for-authors for templates and worked examples.

What is the canonical machine-readable URI for "Conceptualization"?

The canonical URI is https://casrai.org/credit/roles/conceptualization. Use this in JATS XML (vocab-term-identifier), Crossref deposits (credit_role), JSON-LD (sameAs), and any system that stores contributor metadata. CASRAI's encoding guides cover JATS, Crossref Schema 5.5, and JSON-LD at https://casrai.org/credit/jats and https://casrai.org/credit/json-ld.

Can one author hold "Conceptualization" plus other CRediT roles?

Yes — CRediT roles are not mutually exclusive. A single contributor typically holds 3–4 roles. The optional "lead / equal / supporting" qualifier clarifies the contributor's relative responsibility within each role they share with others.

Cite this role

Cite the Conceptualization role

These citations reference this specific role page as a standards-body definition aligned with ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022. For guidance on citing CRediT generally, the underlying standard, or worked statement examples, see How to cite CRediT.

CASRAI Editorial Board (2026). Conceptualization — CRediT contributor role (v2022.1). CASRAI. https://casrai.org/credit/roles/conceptualization

CASRAI Editorial Board. Conceptualization — CRediT contributor role [Internet]. CASRAI; 2026 [cited 2026]. Version v2022.1. Available from: https://casrai.org/credit/roles/conceptualization

CASRAI Editorial Board. 2026. "Conceptualization — CRediT contributor role." Version v2022.1. CASRAI. https://casrai.org/credit/roles/conceptualization.

@misc{casrai_credit_conceptualization_2026,
  author       = {{CASRAI Editorial Board}},
  title        = {{Conceptualization — CRediT contributor role}},
  year         = {2026},
  version      = {v2022.1},
  publisher    = {CASRAI},
  howpublished = {\url{https://casrai.org/credit/roles/conceptualization}},
  note         = {Aligned with ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022. Licensed CC-BY 4.0.}
}

Notable examples

Papers exemplifying the Conceptualization role

These published papers demonstrate the Conceptualization CRediT role in practice. Each example links to its DOI and explains why the role applies.

1. Example 1 of 4illustrative

   Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid

   Watson, J. D., & Crick, F. H. C. · 1953 · Nature · vol. 171 · pp. 737-738

   DOI: 10.1038/171737a0

   A landmark of pure conceptualization. Watson and Crick proposed the double-helix model by integrating prior X-ray crystallography data from Franklin and Wilkins into a novel structural hypothesis. The paper performs no experiments of its own — its entire intellectual contribution is the formulation of a research-defining conceptual model. This is the archetype of CRediT Conceptualization: ideas and the formulation of overarching research goals.

2. Example 2 of 4illustrative

   Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper (On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies)

   Einstein, A. · 1905 · Annalen der Physik · vol. 322 · pp. 891-921

   DOI: 10.1002/andp.19053221004

   Einstein's special-relativity paper is a paradigmatic conceptualization act: he reformulated the foundations of mechanics and electrodynamics from two postulates, without new experimental data. The work re-defines what a research programme in physics could ask. Under CRediT, an analogous modern paper would attribute Conceptualization (lead) to the author of the framework, distinct from authors performing later validation experiments.

3. Example 3 of 4

   Publishing: Credit Where Credit Is Due

   Allen, L., Scott, J., Brand, A., Hlava, M., & Altman, M. · 2014 · Nature · vol. 508 · pp. 312-313

   DOI: 10.1038/508312a

   The origination paper for CRediT itself — and an exemplar of conceptualization. The authors formulate the overarching research goal (a 14-role taxonomy of contributor activity to replace the unstructured authorship list) and articulate the conceptual scaffolding the community would subsequently adopt. The intellectual contribution is the framework, not the empirical demonstration.

4. Example 4 of 4illustrative

   The Tragedy of the Commons

   Hardin, G. · 1968 · Science · vol. 162 · pp. 1243-1248

   DOI: 10.1126/science.162.3859.1243

   A canonical example of conceptualization in the social sciences. Hardin formulated a structural model of resource depletion that has guided five decades of environmental, economic, and policy research. The paper introduces no new experimental data; its contribution is the formulation of an overarching analytical frame. Modern CRediT statements for theory-articulation papers map almost entirely to Conceptualization.

Examples curated by the CASRAI editorial board. Inclusion is illustrative of the role, not an endorsement of methodology or claims. Pre-CRediT-era papers are flagged illustrative.

Translations

Available in

The canonical, normative version of Conceptualization is this English page (ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022). Community-drafted translations are available below for working reference; the English text prevails in case of any divergence.

• English (canonical)en-GB
• Conceptualisation(Français)fr
• Conceptualización(Español)es
• Conceitualização(Português)pt-BR
• 研究构思(中文)zh
• 構想(日本語)ja

All translations are community drafts. CRediT has not been officially translated by NISO.

Dictionary

Related CASRAI Dictionary terms

The Conceptualization role connects to these CASRAI Dictionary terms — the controlled-vocabulary concepts a contributor in this role typically works with. Each links to its canonical definition with worked examples and machine-readable encodings.

Adoption

Who collects Conceptualization — by publisher

The Conceptualization role is collected by the major publishers that have adopted CRediT portfolio-wide. See how each implements the taxonomy in their submission systems:

Related

Continue with CRediT