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Publishing results is a crucial part of the scientific process. Because of this, publishing is a crucial part of your professional development as a scientist. Publishing in peer-reviewed venues allows us to get feedback from our critical peers and allows information to get out “into the world” so that it can be used by others.
We publish in multiple venues, including conference presentations (posters, oral presentations), professional development offerings (round tables, workshops, webinars), and publications in scientific journals.
This is a surprisingly tricky question! Different disciplines and labs have different expectations and norms, but at the end of the day, authorship is acknowledgement of intellectual labor. If a project is grant-based, authorship will almost certainly include project PIs and co-PIs who have done the intellectual labor to set up the original project. Above all, we strive to be ethical and transparent in our decision-making process for who is listed as an author and in what order. For a discussion of some authorship issues, including the unethical practices of gift- and ghost-authorship, check out this article. Some journals have adopted the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to clarify authors’ contributions to publications.
One person should ultimately be responsible for the selection, development and analyses used to address a central thesis or research question guiding the paper’s development; this person is typically the lead (first) author. All authors should have a substantial contribution to the intellectual work of the paper and all authors should be able to communicate and defend the paper as a whole if asked. Typically what this means is that all authors have participated in multiple contributor roles, including at least some elements of the writing process. All authors participate in approving the files submitted for publication.
Many projects are going on in the Ryker Research Lab at all times, and you are encouraged to participate in these where possible to grow your research skills and expertise. Participation may range from asking questions at a group meeting to collaborating on drafts of a manuscript. There is no firm list of criteria for what constitutes authorship. If you have a question about whether your contribution raises to the level of authorship, ask the lead author as soon as the question arises. You can also talk to Katherine if you’re curious, confused, or just want to know more. Dr. Libarkin of the Geocognition Research Lab at Michigan State University developed this helpful list of general guidelines for the assignment of authorship: