10. "Does Authorship Order Matter?"

The paper is finished! Your very first co-authored paper. As you are doing your happy dance, you get an email asking ‘what is the authorship order?’ You see your name is second last and you don’t care because your name is on a paper! But, is this authorship order fair?

This week I talk you through what authorship order means and how it can impact on your career.

My Experience of Authorship Order In The Medical Sciences

I have co-authored 29 papers and whenever you have the authorship order conversation it is always awkward! The best way of reducing this awkwardness is to know the facts about what authorship order means in the medical sciences. (These rules may differ for other disciplines).

The Rules for Authorship on a Publication

Authorship is a researchers number one currency. Researchers are constantly judged by their number of publications, and their author number on those papers. Authorship conversations can be difficult, and researchers have different approaches to authorship. Some will fight and argue their way onto a paper, even if they haven’t made a sufficient contribution; others will wait to see if authorship is bestowed upon them.

To try to disentangle the rules for authorship, every journal’s website will outline its rules for authorship. These rules will likely be a variation of the rules set out by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which include:

• Substantial contribution to the conception and design; or acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data, and

• Drafting of the article or critical revision for important intellectual content, and

• Final approval of the version to be published, and

• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity or any part of the article are appropriately investigated and resolved.

If you need to decide whether someone gets authorship on your paper, one approach is to ask them to demonstrate how they meet the journal’s authorship criteria. Then have an informed discussion on how they meet each criterion.

This approach also works if you feel you should be author on a paper, and you have not been given authorship. Reflect on your contributions, see if they meet the criteria and, if warranted, argue your case with the senior author and/or first author.

It is important to remember, ultimately it is the first and/or senior author’s decision whether to add you as an author. So present your best case and if the decision does not go your way then be gracious, and use it as a teachable moment, ask what else you needed to do to warrant authorship.

The Rules of Authorship Order

In my example above, you have been listed as the second-last author. You may be wondering, “Does it matter what position you are listed on a paper? What does authorship position mean?”

It does matter where you are listed on a paper, the order carries certain weight depending on your content area. Generally:

• The first author is the person who ran the study, and wrote the draft manuscript.

• The last, or senior, author is the person who funded the project, the work was produced in their lab or research group, and/or they designed the study and supervised the first author’s work.

• The middle authors (names listed between the first and last authors) are listed in order of their contribution to the paper.

But these definitions may vary based on the content area.

To further confound authorship order, its importance varies by field.

For example, in mental health research, only first author positions are important. You are judged by the number publications you have, and the number of first author publications. In other medical science fields, you are judged on number of publications, and the number of first AND last author publications.

The Rules for Corresponding Author

A corresponding author is the author who’s contact information is printed on the front page of the journal article, near the authors’ affiliations. The corresponding author is the contact person if anyone has any questions about the study.

The corresponding author's details are also entered into journal databases in their 'potential peer reviewer pool'. The journal will consult this pool when seeking peer reviewers for submitted manuscripts. It is important to complete peer reviews, as it's part of research service, and is a relatively quick task to add to your CV. Most reviews take 1-2 hours to complete.

Unfortunately, the rules about being corresponding author vary by research group. You will need to negotiate this with your research group and co-authors. As it is up to the head of the research group to agree to you being the corresponding author, present your best case and if the decision does not go your way then try to be gracious.

The Lessons for Dealing With or Overcoming Authorship Order Discussions:

If you stay in academia long enough, you will definitely have these conversations about authorship order at some point. I endorse the Brene Brown philosophy of ‘clear is kind’, and that is the sentiment behind the lessons below.

• Approach any authorship and authorship order conversations logically and with sensitivity

Researchers can be sensitive about authorship and authorship order. They may get fired up if you question their decision. You need to decide how hard to fight in these battles. If you ask about authorship, present solid reasons backing up why you are asking for it. If they do not agree, be gracious. Use it as a learning opportunity to ask what contribution you need to make to be an author on the next paper.

My experience: I ran a study and left the research group before the publication was submitted. When I received the manuscript draft, I was listed behind another colleague who made less of a contribution than myself.

I decided this was important to me, so I fought for it.

I called the senior author and presented my case for being promoted up the author order. I asked the senior author their reasons for the authorship order, and we agreed my contribution was higher and I was put in front of the other researcher.

• Work out the order BEFORE you do the science

Authorship is important to show productivity in research. But, if you are a middle author you should invest less time in the project than if you are first author. Before the project begins, ask the senior author what role each person will have in the project, and work out authorship order so everyone in the project is clear at the beginning of their contribution level.

My experience: The most productive collaborations I have been involved in have had open conversations about authorship rules and authorship order before anyone has invested any time in the collaboration. We all agreed to the rules, put them in an email and never had any issues regarding authorship.

• Ask your supervisor and/or research group leader what are their rules of authorship

Use this approach of asking about authorship order before the science begins when you start working for a new research group as well. Ask your supervisor or group head directly what the rules of authorship are in the group. It is more advantageous to be at a group with generous rules for authorship, as you will be more productive.

• Authorship order varies by field - so tell your funders your field’s rules

My experience: I moved from a field where first author publications were all that counted. So the senior author was always the first author. In all my grant applications I informed the reviewer that all second-author publications prior to 2012, should be counted as first-author publications as in the field of mental health authorship etiquette dictates the senior author is first author.

• Authorship expectations depends on your research experience

Grant reviewers look at your number of publications overall, but the more first and/or last author publications you have the better your chances of funding success. As a post-doc you will be expected to have some first author publications, and few, if any, last author publications. However, as you become more senior, you are expected to have a mix of first and last authorship papers. As this shows career progression, as senior author you are overseeing more junior researchers work.

• If you are first author, ask to be corresponding author too

What have you got to lose? Go for it!

• If you are (and should be) a middle author, don’t worry about where you appear in the list

If you are in a field where the importance is on the first or last author positions, it won’t affect your funding chances if you are listed as third or fourth author, so maybe let those battles go.

• If you leave the research group prior to the publication being submitted, you may not get authorship

This is an annoying fact in research. If you leave, you are at the mercy of your colleagues and past supervisor as to whether you will be included in the paper. If there is any work I feel passionate about I speak to all my colleagues about wanting to be involved in writing the publication, and reviewing the manuscript prior to submission. You may need to contribute to the publication unpaid and in your own time, so decide if it is worth it for you.

• Forward any old work emails to your personal email

Ensure you forward all old workplace email addresses to your personal email address. So journals can still reach you for peer reviewing opportunities.

• Be gracious in whatever decision is made

Remember, the people making the decision are your colleagues. They (hopefully) want what is best for you and your career, but also want to be fair to the other research group members. Fight for what you think is right, but be gracious if the decision doesn’t go your way. Use it as a learning opportunity, and use a different strategy for the next study you contribute to.

What are your authorship order stories? Have you been treated pretty fairly or unfairly throughout your career? Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below or emailing me at AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com

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Photo by Kristina Tamašauskaitė on Unsplash

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'The Academic Hierarchy'

'The Academic Playbook'

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