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Authorship: The Hidden Voices of Postgraduate TEFL Students in Iran

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Abstract

Although an author is defined as someone who has made substantial contributions to a research study, sometimes power relations in student-supervisor collaborations play a more determining role in attribution of authorship. This article reflects the ideas of eight Iranian postgraduate Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) students about authorship policies and practices at their universities. The interview data indicate that the participants were not involved in authorship decisions and authorship credits were given based on their supervisors’ positions and seniority rather than their contribution to students’ research. The participants also described unfair authorship experiences affecting their motivation, interest in academia, self-confidence, etc. It is recommended that faculty members and policy-makers in TEFL programs in Iran engage in ongoing open discussions about authorship policies and decision-making with students to avoid creating negative feelings and unpleasant experiences for students which might lead to a legacy of unfair authorship practices.

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Acknowledgments

The researcher would like to thank all the participants whose contributions provided valuable data for doing this research.

Author’s Contribution

Mahsa Izadinia is an MA graduate in TEFL from Tehran, Iran. She is currently doing a PhD in Education at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Edith Cowan University, 2 Bradford street, Mount Lawley, Perth, 6050, Australia

    Mahsa Izadinia

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  1. Mahsa Izadinia
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Correspondence to Mahsa Izadinia.

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Izadinia, M. Authorship: The Hidden Voices of Postgraduate TEFL Students in Iran. J Acad Ethics 12, 317–331 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-014-9215-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-014-9215-1

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