Quantifying the contributions technicians make to research

Abstract

Technicians play a highly significant, but often invisible, role in research. Despite growing recognition of the importance of technicians, through initiatives such as the Technician’s Commitment, their contribution is inconsistently recognized across research groups, between disciplines, and within institutions. This article presents a simple framework, based on existing standards that can be easily integrated into common research workflows to capture technician contributions. By utilizing ORCID identifiers, Digital Object Identifiers, and the CRediT contributor role taxonomy, technician contribution can be quantified, recognized, and valuable additional data can be created for the planning and management of future research. Presented in the context of the Australasian higher education system, the framework is illustrated with a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics focus but is applicable across all disciplines.