Why this discipline needs its own guide
Background
Surgical research has its own reporting ecosystem: the IDEAL (Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term study) framework for surgical-innovation evaluation; SCARE for case reports, PROCESS for case series, and CONSORT for surgical RCTs. Authorship attribution in surgical papers needs to capture both the intellectual and the operative contribution, since the surgeon who performed the technique is often distinct from the team member who analysed outcomes.
The British Journal of Surgery, Annals of Surgery and JAMA Surgery all reference CRediT in their author guidance. The challenge in practice is distinguishing the operating surgeon’s Investigation role from the post-operative outcome analysis Investigation role, both of which are central to the work but represent distinct contributions.
Key considerations
How to assign the roles
- The operating surgeon’s contribution is Investigation (performing the intervention) and frequently Conceptualization (the surgical strategy) and Methodology (the operative technique).
- Outcome assessors who are blinded from the operating team should be recorded under Investigation and Validation; their independence is the methodological point of the design.
- Case-series papers should record Data Curation as a distinct role; assembling consecutive-case data with consistent definitions is itself substantive work.
- Surgical-trial papers should reference the IDEAL stage in the Methods and treat protocol violations as a Methodology-level consideration.
- Industry-supplied devices or instrumentation belong under Resources; the disclosure obligations for industry-funded surgical research are typically more stringent than the manufacturer’s contribution warrants in CRediT terms.
Reporting Guideline Integration
SCARE 2023 & IDEAL to CRediT Crosswalk
Mapping Surgical Case Reports & IDEAL Development Stages to CRediT
Surgical research tracks medical devices, operative techniques, and individual patient outcomes. This crosswalk maps the SCARE checklist (case reports) and the IDEAL framework (Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term Study) to transparent CRediT roles.
| Checklist Item / Phase | Mapped CRediT Role(s) | Guidance & Practical Allocation |
|---|---|---|
| SCARE Patient InfoMedical history, diagnostic timeline, and demographic characteristics. | InvestigationData Curation | Conducting standard pre-operative interviews maps to Investigation. Assembling medical charts and chronological data into templates maps to Data Curation. |
| Diagnostic AssessmentPhysical exams, laboratory results, radiological scans, and histology. | InvestigationValidation | Ordering and interpreting specific clinical diagnostics belongs to Investigation. Expert pathological or radiological verification maps to Validation. |
| Therapeutic InterventionThe operative surgical procedure, technique adjustments, and device specifics. | InvestigationMethodologyResources | Performing the surgery is Investigation. Adapting or innovating a novel surgical technique is Methodology. Sourcing custom implants or specialized equipment maps to Resources. |
| SCARE Out-of-Clinic Follow-upPost-operative monitoring, wound checks, and patient-reported outcomes. | InvestigationValidation | Completing postoperative clinic visits is Investigation. Verifying complication rates or recurrence status via independent clinical criteria is Validation. |
| SCARE Discussion / NarrativeContextualizing surgical novelty, referencing literature, and limitations. | ConceptualizationWriting – Original Draft | Framing the scientific contribution and novelty is Conceptualization. Authoring the initial case narrative belongs under Writing – Original Draft. |
| IDEAL Stage 1 (Idea)Reporting the very first surgical intervention on a single human patient. | ConceptualizationMethodologyInvestigation | Conceiving the new operative technique maps to Conceptualization and Methodology. Executing the first surgical procedure is Investigation. |
| IDEAL Stage 2a/2b (Development)Refining the surgical protocol with a small cohort, tracking safety. | MethodologyInvestigationValidation | Making iterations to the operative protocol is Methodology. Collecting multi-patient data is Investigation. Independent safety monitoring maps to Validation. |
| IDEAL Stage 3 (Assessment)Evaluating surgical techniques against standard treatments in a trial. | MethodologyInvestigationFormal Analysis | Designing the comparative trial structure maps to Methodology. Performing standard random allocation and surgeries is Investigation. Quantitative assessment is Formal Analysis. |
Worked example
A representative CRediT statement
Author Contributions (CRediT) Lead Surgeon, H. Aoki: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation (operative), Writing – review & editing. Co-Surgeon, K. Nakamura: Investigation (operative), Writing – review & editing. Outcomes Lead, J. Mitchell: Methodology, Investigation (outcome assessment), Formal analysis, Writing – original draft. Trial Data Manager, R. Lefebvre: Data curation, Validation. Department Head, A. Vasquez: Supervision, Writing – review & editing.
The role names above match the canonical wording at casrai.org/credit. Most publishers accept exactly this format.
Further reading
Discipline-specific sources
Common questions
Frequently asked
How do I assign CRediT roles for the operating surgeon?
The operating surgeon's contribution is recorded under Investigation (performing the intervention), and frequently also Conceptualization (the surgical strategy) and Methodology (the operative technique). The challenge in surgical papers is distinguishing this operative Investigation role from the separate Investigation role of the team member who performed the post-operative outcome analysis — both are central but distinct contributions.
Does the IDEAL framework or SCARE replace the CRediT statement?
No — IDEAL is a framework for evaluating surgical innovation, and SCARE and PROCESS are reporting guidelines for case reports and case series; none of them records who contributed what. CRediT complements them: a surgical-trial paper should reference its IDEAL stage in the Methods while still providing a CRediT statement that attributes the operative, analytical, and supervisory contributions.
