4 ms·
I'm 2nd author on a 2-author paper where my only contribution was answering a couple of questions on how to use some software, and then proofreading the couple
by sacrosancty 4y ago
I'm 2nd author on a 2-author paper where my only contribution was answering a couple of questions on how to use some software, and then proofreading the couple of paragraphs that mentioned it. I didn't even read most of the paper, let alone know what it was really about. Surely there's a need to communicate the fact that my contribution is less than that of the real author?
- CJefferson 4y agoI agree, but order isn't the way to do that, as it could mean you did 49% or 4%. A better system would be to just explain what each author did.
- sacrosancty 4y agoNo doubt. Or not even have such minor contributors as authors in the first place. Perhaps you should have to have actually written part of the paper, like an actual author, or at least done some novel research of your own. Technicians and others who assisted with it, even did all of the grunt work could just be acknowledged if they want some fame. But I guess that authorship is a kind of payment-by-exposure instead of actual money and enough people are desperate enough to take it.
- Al-Khwarizmi 4y agoIn the last few years, an increasing number of journals are adopting that kind of system.