Acknowledging the RSS Units

Acknowledging the RSS Units

Supporting the research effort of CBC, UArizona, and the greater research community is fundamental to the mission of RSS.  Acknowledging the RSS units and staff or including staff as coauthors in publications, patents, posters, presentations, and grant proposals provides important metrics for quantifying the positive impact of RSS units on the research enterprise. These metrics are then used by the administration for making decisions on continuing or adjusting the financial support for the RSS.

Demonstrating the positive impact on the research enterprise directly correlates with the ability to keep costs down, upgrade equipment, and expand services that will advance your research program!

RSS recommends:

  • All self-use and routine services should be acknowledged in publications and presentations.
  • Co-authorship should be offered when the RSS staff member makes significant intellectual contributions into your project, including the experimental design, data collection approaches, and data analysis and interpretation, which extend beyond standard/routine services.
  • Co-authorship should be agreed to by the RSS staff, and it should be discussed with them either before the project begins or during the project, when the staff contribution becomes significant.

If you are considering including an RSS staff member as a coauthor in your publication, please review the Association for Biomolecular Research Facilities Authorship Guidelines. RSS staff appreciates being recognized for their intellectual and/or experimental contributions to research projects.  Ultimately, the decision on offering the coauthorship lies with the project PI or corresponding author. 

Please include the pertinent statement(s) in your publications and edit as necessary.  Below are examples that can be modified to meet the requirements of the journal.

Example language for the Materials and Methods section:

"The ___work/measurements/experiments___ was/were performed at the _____________ Facility/Shop (insert RRID number) in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry of the University of Arizona, on a ___describe the make/model of the instrument used____."

Example language for the personal acknowledgment in the Acknowledgment section at the end of the manuscript:

"We thank ____insert name of RSS staff____, the ___staff member/staff scientist/director/manager/etc.___ of the _________ Facility/Shop (insert RRID number) in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Arizona, for performing ____________ measurements and data analysis."

Specific wording examples to use for each of the RSS units can be found in the RSS Acknowledgements Document or by emailing the RSS manager.

Research Resource Identifiers (RRID) are ID numbers assigned to help researchers cite key resources (including core facilities), in scientific literature.  They are unique identifiers that link publications to the facility and its Core Market Place listing.  This makes it easier to capture the publication information for reporting the research impact of the facility and enables compliance with federal grant reporting requirements.  All of the RSS units have an assigned RRID (see table).

Did not use an RRID in your publication?  Report your RSS related publications HERE

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. 

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Us:

Brooke Beam Massani, Ph.D.
Director of Research Support Services
bbeam@arizona.edu
520-621-3395