Lab Policies

Collaborative projects

Collaborative projects leading to scientific publications are win-win endeavors that can significantly benefit from lower costs and years of ICP-MS/LA-ICP-MS research expertise. Collaborative projects can expect the following lab contributions: (1) expert analysis, data reduction (plottable data set), and statistical evaluation of data quality; (2) documentation of analytical methodology; and (3) review and editorial feedback on drafts as pertinent to the lab role in the project. Additional contributions may include project analytical design help, sample processing, data interpretation and extended editorial feedback.

Collaborative users are eligible to receive the same rates applicable to internal users.  The collaborative rate structure is negotiated on a case-by-case basis. The following documentation is required to establish a collaborative rate proposal:

  • A copy of the collaborative agreement showing:
    • The name of the sponsoring entity
    • Sponsored project name and account
    • Names of all PIs and entities included in the collaborative sponsored project
  • The scope of work detailing the usage of the center within the collaborative agreement

If a collaborative project is of interest, please contact the lab.  The best time for this is prior to submission of research proposals.

 

When should collaborative authorship be considered?

The lab takes great pride in providing high quality publishable data and does not seek gratuitous authorship. However, the lab ultimately takes public responsibility for the contributed analytical content. If the analytical component provided by the lab contributes in a meaningful and substantive way to the intellectual content of a scientific or scholarly paper (e.g., concept, design, execution, or interpretation) that is equivalent to the contributions of other listed authors, collaboration is a fair and reasonable expectation. Collaboration is particularly welcomed for projects involving specialized analysis and method development, project design benefiting from lab experience, and/or extended projects involving iterative data reduction and data quality assessment.

More on ethics and integrity of collaboration:

When should acknowledgement be considered?

Acknowledgement in scientific papers should be made if lab contributions represent a valuable contribution to the project.