11. "My First First-Author Publication"

Over the past few weeks on Twitter I have seen many researchers celebrating their first first-author publication. I love congratulating them on such an accomplishment! This led me to reflect and feel nostalgic for my own first-author publication. This blog is dedicated to all the researchers who are celebrating wins during this enduring tough time.

My Experience of My First First-Author Publication:

My first-first author publication came about 7 years into my research career, in the first year of my PhD.

My paper was an ecological study examining trends of prescription opioid utilisation, associated costs, opioid-related hospitalisations and opioid-related deaths. One of my co-authors had published a paper a few years earlier, looking at trends of prescription opioid use, and this paper extended that research question.

This paper did not require any sophisticated analyses. It was a simple descriptive paper with multiple graphs showing the increase in prescription opioid utilisation, costs, hospitalisations and deaths in Australia over time.

When I finished it, I was so proud. My first first-author publication!

Then someone tried to burst my bubble by saying:

“You will look back on this article in the future, and you will not be proud of it. It is like a Woman’s Weekly (tabloid magazine) article”.

I didn’t care, and their comment did not burst my bubble. It was my first first-author publication, the first publication of my PhD, and I liked the story it told. It set the context for all of my future PhD studies examining the trends of prescription opioid utilisation, and how to distinguish between opioid use and potential misuse.

I submitted my article for publication. It was accepted at the first journal I sent it to with minor revisions! Thank you, BJCP (The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology)!

Later on that year, my article was selected as an ‘Editor’s Pick’. I was ecstatic, not only was I proud of my paper but other people were writing about my research because of the story it told. I was happy and humbled by this acknowledgement. I allowed myself to enjoy it, after 7 years in research I knew this experience was rare.

Publishing my first first-author publication is one of the best moments of my research career. I treasure it. It was the moment my mindset changed. Suddenly, I believed I deserved to be in the PhD program. Maybe I COULD actually finish this. Up to that point I thought I would enrol in the PhD and just see how far I could get. I never thought I was smart enough to actually finish a PhD and become Dr Blanch.

My PhD training gave me the confidence to believe I could have a career in research. It has shaped my career into what it is today. And I am grateful.

The Lessons For First First Author Publications:

• Be proud of your publication!

Actually, be proud of all of your publications. They represent hundreds (or possibly thousands) of hours of your life. They demonstrate who you were at that moment in time, and you became a better scientist because of each of them.

• Appreciate your success and allow yourself to savour it.

I still feel proud when I look at my CV and see my list of publications and outputs. I know how hard I worked for every single line on that CV.

• You can never pick which articles will be winners that people engage with.

To this day, my first first-author publication has been my most highly cited. (See 'What’s Your Impact (Factor)?' for details in how important citations are for your funding chances). So it may be a Woman's Weekly tabloid piece, but it has resonated with the academic community.

• No question is too small.

Smaller research papers are the foundation for you to ask bigger and more impactful research questions in the future. They also provide an opportunity for you to further perfect your craft to ensure the big question is also the right question to ask.

• Google yourself to find all of your citations.

My experience: Googling yourself can very worthwhile! I googled myself to find my number of citations. I saw my first first-author paper actually had a citation, which was strange as I, nor any of my colleagues, had referenced it. I clicked on the citation and that was how I found out it was the BJCP Editor’s Pick! I let my co-authors know so they could add it to their CVs, as this counts as a research award!

• Spread the word on Twitter.

Now you have a publication, don’t forget to give a Twitter thread summary to ensure maximum exposure of your research. (See 'Book Review: "Twitter for Scientists"' for tips on how to do this).

• Can you expand your research question by seeking a collaboration?

For example, in my study, I could have contacted researchers in another jurisdiction to observe if they had similar or different trends to my Australian data. (See ‘The Academic Playbook’ for information about how collaborations can boost your productivity.)

Congratulations if you have already written your first first-author publication. If you haven't yet, keep on working, you will get there!

What was your first first-author publication experience? Good, bad or ugly? Let me know via comment below or email AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com

Photo by Tory Morrison on Unsplash

Related Blogs:

'What’s Your Impact (Factor)?'

'Book Review: "Twitter for Scientists"'

‘The Academic Playbook’

I will write a new post every Friday about another aspect of the research world. Please email me to subscribe to my blog. AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com

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