By Alex O. Holcombe1, Malgorzata Lagisz2 & Eli Thoré3
The use of CRediT enriches the information available about the people associated with published research projects. CRediT became an ANSI NISO standard in 2022, which has facilitated its worldwide adoption. However, NISO standards are officially provided only in English which can impede their adoption where English is not a first language, and particularly among regional publishers. Having versions of CRediT available in more of the languages in which science is published can help to support adoption and enable more researchers to receive visibility for their important contributions.
As part of the Contributorship Collaboration we and others initiated a project to translate CRediT from English into other languages. So far, we have completed translations for thirteen languages, and more are on their way.
The translation process typically begins with a researcher fluent in the target language translating the fourteen CRediT roles and associated descriptions. A second person fluent in the language but not overly familiar with CRediT and blind to the original CRediT descriptions will then translate the text back into English. Differences between the back-translation and the original English version highlight phrases and words to be discussed by the translators before agreeing on a final translation. Alternatively, a second translator cross-checks and edits the draft translation without back-translating it to English. To ensure transparency and quality assurance, the translators’ names and the ‘Translation Procedure’ are included.
Why do we bother creating these translations manually when nowadays commonly-available AI tools can provide good translations on the fly? The availability of quality-certified translations may instill confidence of journal editors or publishers to proceed with adopting CRediT for a given language. Indeed, we know that some governments and organisations will not use a translation without clearly associated quality assurance processes. Having a single standard translation – as opposed to describing the same thing in various ways – can also foster clarity and reduce potential confusion.
We also are working to connect journal editors and/or publishers interested in using CRediT with translators or other language experts who have experience with CRediT. Such connections can foster appropriate international adoption of CRediT.
In the absence of dedicated ongoing resources for translations of standards, it is important that research communities can come together to develop and coalesce on a single version for a given language; we hope that the Contributorship Collaboration helps to serve this purpose. If you would like to help us create translations in more languages, please join us!
Blog post author affiliations:
1. Alex O. Holcombe:
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2869-0085
2. Malgorzata Lagisz:
- University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3993-6127
3. Eli Thoré:
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
- Laboratory of Adaptive Biodynamics, Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Life, Earth and Environment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
- TRANSfarm – Science, Engineering, & Technology Group, KU Leuven, Lovenjoel, Belgium
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0029-8404