# Responsibilities of Authors ### Policy on Responsibilities of Authors Authors should ensure that a clear designation, delineation, and acceptance of authorship responsibility has been established. For more information, please review [the institution policy on Authorship](https://icahn.mssm.edu/about/faculty-resources/handbook/institutional/authorship). In addition to adhering to the institutional policy on Authorship, any potential or selected mentors and mentees should discuss the criteria for determining authorship for publications based on data, protocols, or code generated in their laboratory and with collaborators where the mentor(s) is/are the senior author(s). A similar discussion is necessary for determining authorship in studies involving multiple laboratories or consortia. Students with authorship concerns should openly discuss these with their mentor(s). If agreement is not reached, students should seek the advice of their thesis advisory committee and/or MTA directors. ### Policy on Data Retention All original laboratory data books or journals, etc., from which a publication is derived, must be stored in the laboratory for a minimum of six years from the date of publication. If the senior author leaves the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount School before the six-year period elapses, he/she/they will be required to retain and make available, if requested, to ISMMS all these data until the completion of this minimum time period. In the case of large ongoing database related research, the responsible investigator must retain the pertinent mass data storage device (cloud, hard drive, tape, disk, etc., not necessarily in hard copy) containing the data on which a publication is based. The stored data can be used for verification of data, as well as the base for ongoing studies of the same project. In the latter instance, however, a clarifying statement that describes the nature and the composition of the reutilized and incremental data should accompany the publication. The data storage device cannot be reused for unrelated projects. Although it is understood that this rule governing database storage may not be appropriate in all situations, individual modifications must be approved by the Dean. For additional information, please click on the "Research Administration Offices" section in [the chapter on Research in the Faculty Handbook](https://icahn.mssm.edu/about/faculty-resources/handbook/research). --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://ismms-gs.gitbook.io/graduate-student-handbook/chapter-1/academic-policies/responsibilities-of-authors.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.