What is CRediT and why do journals require it?
CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) is a controlled vocabulary of 14 specific contribution types used to describe what each author actually did. Developed in 2014 and now an ANSI/NISO standard, it is required by many journals (Elsevier, Frontiers, Wiley, PLOS, and others). CRediT does NOT decide who qualifies as an author — that remains an ICMJE decision. It describes contributions of those already listed.
Detail
The 14 roles
Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.
How it works at submission
The submitting author enters each co-author's contribution by selecting from the 14 roles. Multiple roles per author are allowed. A role can also be marked with degree — lead, equal, supporting. This appears in the published paper.
Why journals adopted it
CRediT was designed to fix the vagueness of 'contributed to writing and analysis'. It makes credit auditable. Funders like it because it clarifies who did what for grant reporting. Institutions like it because it distinguishes lead from supporting roles for promotion.
What CRediT does NOT do
CRediT does NOT determine who qualifies as an author. It describes what each listed author did. Meeting a CRediT role does not automatically grant authorship.
A criticism worth knowing
Some critics note CRediT can be gamed: multiple co-authors claim the same role, or a senior researcher lists themselves under 'Supervision' plus 'Writing – review & editing' plus 'Funding acquisition' as three separate credits. The taxonomy is a tool, not a verification system.