Explainer · Plain-language
What is CRediT?
CRediT (the Contributor Roles Taxonomy) is a controlled vocabulary of 14 standardised roles used to describe what each contributor did on a research output. It replaces opaque authorship-byline conventions with machine-readable per-author per-role attribution.
The 14 roles
CRediT covers 14 roles grouped into four functional categories: Planning + design (Conceptualization, Methodology, Software), Research + analysis (Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data curation), Communication (Writing — original draft, Writing — review & editing, Visualization), and Management (Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition).
Origin
A 2012 workshop convened by Harvard, the Wellcome Trust, and HHMI proposed a contributorship taxonomy as an alternative to the limited author-byline convention. The first CRediT taxonomy was published in 2014 (Allen et al., Nature). CASRAI stewarded the taxonomy from 2014 onwards; NISO formalised it as ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022 in February 2022.
How to write a CRediT statement
For each author, list every role they held with an optional degree qualifier (lead / equal / supporting). Example: "A.S. — Conceptualization (lead), Methodology (equal with B.D.), Writing — original draft (lead), Writing — review & editing (equal)."
CRediT vs ICMJE
CRediT does not replace ICMJE Vancouver authorship criteria — those define who can be an author. CRediT defines what each author (and acknowledged contributor) did. The two are complementary.
Key facts
At a glance
- Standard: ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022
- Roles: 14
- Categories: 4 functional groups
- Adoption: 50+ publishers, ~10,000 journals (2026)
- Licence: CC-BY 4.0
- Steward: NISO (with CASRAI as a federation partner)
Common misconceptions
What people often get wrong
Often heard: CRediT determines who is an author.
Actually: No — ICMJE Vancouver criteria determine authorship. CRediT describes what each author + contributor did.
Often heard: CRediT is mutually exclusive — one role per author.
Actually: No — one author typically has multiple roles. Roles aren't mutually exclusive.
Often heard: CRediT is publisher-specific.
Actually: No — it's a single international standard. Publisher-specific differences are in how it's captured, not the taxonomy itself.
Going deeper
