Lost in the middle: author order matters, new paper says

Rare is the scientific paper today written by a single author. With research being conducted by teams of scientists, most studies now boast a half-dozen or so authors. According to a new study led by a scientist at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, credit for those papers is far from evenly distributed, and the order in which the authors’ names are listed makes a big difference.

The new findings appear in the Nov. 1 issue of the scientific journal EMBO Reports. OMRF’s Jonathan Wren, Ph.D., is the first author on the paper, which is entitled “The write position.”

In scientific circles, the long-accepted hierarchy of authorship places the one who did the lion’s share of the work first and the senior author last. “What we wanted to know was: What about everyone in between?” said Wren. “What do people think about the middle authors and their contribution to the work described in the paper?”

To find out, the researchers mailed surveys to promotion committees at 142 medical schools in the United States and Canada. Sixty-six percent of the U.S. schools responded to the questionnaires, while 28 percent of the Canadian schools replied.

Those survey results revealed that when an author’s name appears in the middle, rather than the beginning or end, of a byline on a scientific paper, their perceived role in the project diminishes quickly. That can mean that, even when the publication appears in a prestigious journal, authors receive little credit (and, consequently, diminished chances for promotion, research funding and tenure) when they are listed as one of several middle authors on a paper.

As the number of authors per paper grows, the roles of authors listed in the middle increasingly blur. “Researchers define or rank authorship position subjectively, and there are few clear-cut standards,” said Wren. “Our survey results showed that author names appearing near the beginning of the list of authors are perceived to have contributed more to the project.” Senior authors—those listed last—tend to maintain their standing no matter how many authors are listed in the byline.

“All authors deserve fair credit, wherever their names appear,” said Wren. “We hope this study gives authors, editors and committee members a better understanding of the trends and of how perceptions about scientific contribution are formed.”

Source: Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Related stories:

As Colorado Heats Up, Water Supply Expected to Be at Risk, Says New Study
(PhysOrg.com) -- Water resource managers may have to prepare for a warmer Colorado and a shift in the timing of runoff in most of the state's river basins, according to a new assessment of Colorado climate change by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University.
Experts agree: Environmental standards needed for biofuels
The United States lacks the standards to ensure that producing biofuels from cellulose won't cause environmental harm, says a distinguished group of international scientists. But because the industry is so young, policymakers have an exceptional opportunity to develop incentive programs to ensure the industry doesn't harm the environment.
New study offers solution to global fisheries collapse
A study published in the September 19 issue of Science shows that an innovative yet contentious fisheries management strategy called "catch shares" can reverse fisheries collapse. Where traditional "open access" fisheries have converted to catch shares, both fishermen and the oceans have benefited.
Scientists create first dense gas of ultracold 'polar' molecules
Scientists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)and the University of Colorado at Boulder, have applied their expertise in ultracold atoms and lasers to produce the first high-density gas of ultracold molecules—two different atoms bonded together—that are both stable and capable of strong interactions.
As personalized, genomic medicine takes off, four developing countries show the way for others
Developing countries that want the benefits of cutting-edge health care possibilities based on the genetic variation of individual citizens and sub-populations need to foster the new science at home, says a major new Canadian study published today by Nature Publishing Group.
Immigrant Sun: Our star could be far from where it started in Milky Way
A long-standing scientific belief holds that stars tend to hang out in the same general part of a galaxy where they originally formed. Some astrophysicists have recently questioned whether that is true, and now new simulations show that, at least in galaxies similar to our own Milky Way, stars such as the sun can migrate great distances.
New probe could aid quantum computing
(PhysOrg.com) -- MIT researchers may have found a way to overcome a key barrier to the advent of super-fast quantum computers, which could be powerful tools for applications such as code breaking. Ever since Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman first proposed the theory of quantum computing more than two decades ago, researchers have been working to build such a device.
Loneliness undermines health as well as mental well-being
Feeling connected to others is vital to a person's mental well-being, as well as physical health, research at the University of Chicago shows.

News discussion:

Medicine & Health news