Does first or second author matter?

It depends on the field and on agreement between authors, but from career perspective it is better if a person has also sometimes been the first author (and in some fields, also published something alone), it does not matter so much if a person has mostly been a second or a third author.

Is second to last author good?

First and last positions have traditionally been top-ranked, with a margin to the rest (cf. Walker et al., 2010). It follows from the above ranking that the second position is also important. Second-to-last, however, is not.

Can a research paper have two first authors?

Shared co-first authorship is defined as two or more authors who have worked together on a publication and contributed equally [8]. This equal contribution is often indicated in the fine print of a published paper or in an investigator’s curriculum vitae [9].

Is second author co author?

Both of them are authors no doubt but the difference is that the author is the one who has developed the idea or concept for a work while the co-author is a person who is helping the author in writing the work with some contribution. A co-author is also known as a corresponding author.

What is the difference between first and corresponding author?

This is a common doubt, especially at the beginning of a researcher’s career, but easy to explain: fundamentally, a corresponding author takes the lead in the manuscript submission for publication process, whereas the first author is actually the one who did the research and wrote the manuscript.

Can you have co Second authors?

Co-second (and so on) is just the generalization to the next set of authors. They’re all co-authors, as that term is more inclusive, and doesn’t say anything about contribution level.

How do you indicate two first authors?

Traditionally, co-first authors are indicated by an asterisk and the order of the individuals is the decision of the PI. Once the paper is published, it appears in print as follows: co-Author 1*, co-Author 2*, Author 3, and Author 4.

What is first author and second author?

1st Author: Person who did most of the work, like write the manuscript, and do most if not all of the experiment. 2nd Author: Person who helped out the most, and/or person who mentored the 1st author (e.g.: if 1st author was grad student) the most.

Can two people be the first author?

Shared co-first authorship is defined as two or more authors who have worked together on a publication and contributed equally [8]. For instance, Gastroenterology acknowledges up to two co-first authors by bolding their names in the reference section but not in the body of the manuscript [10].

Should I get a second authorship for my Paper?

You have only one publication thus far. Have another one, even the second authorship, is definitely better than nothing. Not to mention your first authorship paper is not very good by your own evaluation. In the end, each paper counts. I would not hesitate to get second authorship unless I felt I deserved to be first author on the paper.

Who is the corresponding author of a research paper?

But many studends’ papers are guided by their supervisor, or some youngsters are guided by their senior colleagues (usually the project director), thus the corresponding authors are considered of being the same important author as the first author. The corresponding author can be the second author or the third author or even the last author.

What happens if two authors equally contribute to a research paper?

If two authors equally contributed, it needs to be negotiated who goes first. Normally they put a ‘*’ or another sign and in the footnote that ‘these authors contributed equally to the study’. Additionally if it is an important piece of research, the last and senior author (i.e. the money man) might want to be the first author as well.

What is shared co-first authorship and how is it defined?

Shared co-first authorship is defined as two or more authors who have worked together on a publication and contributed equally. This equal contribution is often indicated in the fine print of a published paper or in an investigator’s curriculum vitae.