Contribution

The word contribution has, according to WordNet 2.1 the following senses: "

• any one of a number of individual efforts in a common endeavor; "I am proud of my contribution to the team's success"; "they all did their share of the work"
• a voluntary gift (as of money or service or ideas) made to some worthwhile cause
• act of giving in common with others for a common purpose especially to a charity
• an amount of money contributed; "he expected his contribution to be repaid with interest"
• a writing for publication especially one of a collection of writings as an article or story " (WordNet 2006)

Scientists and scholars give away their legal ownership of their publications to publishers assuming that gift will make their ideas available for circulation. Once published their work will become a contribution to the common knowledge base on which other scholars can build.

One indication that much published work may not in reality constitute a contribution is, however, the existence of uncited papers. An author may intend to publish a contribution, but may fail to do so. An editor may intend to accept only contributions, but may fail to do so. The pressure on academics may cause a tendency towards, for example, to publish "Least Publishable Units" or publications, that formally, but not really, represent contributions. Such "non-contributions" cause much harm because they lover the visibility of real contributions. In some fields (if not in most fields) it has become an enormous task to read and interpret the giant store of publications because of the volume of non-contributions. This may reduce the motivation to do so, and in the end this may undermine the basis of academic work. 

Literature:

Ingelfinger, F. (1969). Definition of „sole contribution“. New England Journal of Medicine 281, 676-677.

WordNet 2.1. (2006). Contribution. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=contribution

See also: Uncitedness; Work (Lifeboat for KO)

Birger Hjørland

Last edited: 13-05-2006

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