We begin with a brief discussion about
Within this course, there is an element of focus on co-authorship and collaborations and how to manage these relationships throughout the publication process, therefore it is also natural to have a brief discussion about this here.
Formal definitions of authorship vary even within the STEM community. The most rigorous lies within Medicine, dictated by The Vancouver rules:
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The Vancouver group, 1985
This is a very formal definition, we can consider it to be similar to our ball and stick atomic model: a
Your manuscipt is likely to be authored by more than just you and your supervisor. It is therefore important to consider the roles each author has played to obtain such authorship.
It is common place for Journals to request that you
This is the first name on the list of authors. I am assuming this is you!
This is the person who will correspond with the Journal during submission process, ie. You or your Supervisor
An author who perhaps should be on the list, are there students who have contributed to any of the first point of the definition of authorship? If so, be sure to include them throughout the process and not to leave them of the authorship list! This is worth thinking about NOW!
Consider if all authors are true authors and are not being 'gifted authorship' by default. Reflect on the Vancouver Rules and discuss this with your supervisor.
The latter two situations should be avoided! It is therefore worthwhile spending sometime with your supervisor considering the appropriate authors to include within your manuscript. Do not forget summer students etc.!
Think about the convention of ordering of authors on your paper. The group leader/supervisor is conventionally last. Persons between can be ordered in order of contribution, status or alphabetically by name...
It is common practice to collaborate with a number of individuals between a variety of departments, scientific fields and countries. Such collaborations can be
It is therefore very important to learn how to manage and communicate with your co-authors. It is a tricky task of ensuring you are providing
Finally, it is worth ensuring you ask your co-authors in advance if you wish for them to