How do you get published as an undergrad?

[brightness]

When I searched I found a lot of threads with similar titles, but they were in the medical school area and, as such, were mainly pertaining to medical school research, not psychology research.

I am working in an animal behavior lab and I have been this semester, volunteering part time. Obviously it would be very beneficial to me to get something published before I apply to graduate schools, but I can't seem to figure out how to start that process. Its not like I have a great deal of experience in research, but I am running animals and collecting data. How much does one normally have to do in order to be included in a publication?

I've emailed countless professors to ask about becoming a research assistant but I haven't really gotten any other offers. So I'm feeling really hopeless about the whole thing.

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[erg923]

The 2002 APA ethics code states that only those who contributed substantially to the gathering or analyzing of data, or writing of the article are included as authors. Of course this is somewhat subjective, so always talk to your supervisor about authorship possibilities before starting. I was put in 1 pub (last author of course) just for entering data. Although I did other little things that kept subject recruitment going, and the lab operational, etc. I still thought it was very generous though. Generally speaking, you have to either work one on one with a professor on a project, or be doing more than just entering data (running the subjects or doing lit reviews, or otherwise helping write the pub) to get authorship as an undergrad.

I'm sorry your not getting good spots on productive projects. If you are not a research focused school it can be difficult. Might have to look elsewhere (ie., hopsitals).

 

[thewesternsky]

Interesting question. This will vary substantially from lab-to-lab, but I've honestly never seen a lab where collecting data (i.e., running subjects), coding data, or menial tasks got you included in the author list. In my experience, authorship comes from doing any of the following:

1) coming up with the project idea
2) contributing substantially to the analysis (generating a coding scheme, running simulations or advanced analyses that no one else in the lab knows how to do, etc.)
3) writing the paper itself
4) contributing important ideas

From what you've described, I doubt you would be included as an author. That doesn't mean you're not getting valuable experience. Remember, most students don't have publications before graduate school-- getting projects to a publishable stage is rarely easy, and most undergrads simply don't have the time or skills to contribute significantly to projects.

When undergraduates DO have publications, it's usuallybecause they do an independent study project (thesis) that works out. If I were you, I would try to spear-head a project with your current supervisor. Let him know you're really interested in getting more involved, and ask if there's any way the two of you could do a project together. If you can come up with an idea yourself, all the better-- but even if you can't, I would still ask.

Good luck! And remember, publications are not the be-all-and-end-all for admissions. Don't be frustrated if you don't have any when you apply. The experience is still worth it, and besides-- if you're applying this coming fall/winter, the chances of you starting something now and having it accepted by then are slim to nil.

 

[EquestriAnn]

Hmm that is a good question. I guess I just got lucky and got into a lab that supports of the idea of letting undergrads be co-author if they earn it. I worked my little butt off for 10 months in a lab, working way more and way way harder than the other students and I got 3rd author on a paper right before I applied to grad school. I had no idea it was even a possibility but my PI told me that he thinks it's fair since I did all the work. When I am a prof I will definitely do the same for my students who are applying to grad school, I think it helped me a lot. Sorry I can't give you better advice, but that's how it worked for me!

 

[chan83]

It does vary A LOT from lab to lab. I have done all the data collection, some lit review, some data analysis, contributed some minor ideas to the project and data analysis, as a paid RA for 2 years and got no authorship. But my friend who is in another lab as a paid RA for 2 years and got 3-4 publications (not first-author). She did the same things as I did.

However, the experience till counts if you are able to articulate the significance of your exp., even you got no publication out there. I do get into a great PhD program without publication.

My advice is that you should talk directly to your prof and ask if he/she is writing any paper for the studies you have been involved, and ask if you can write part of it and get the credit. It is of course nice if you come with some of your own ideas. But honestly I think the most important thing is how "generous" your prof is. If you are looking for RA job and want to get publications from it, you'd better look at the publication record of the prof and see if he/she does publish with his/her RAs. Then you will see your chance of getting it. Hope it helps.

 

[PsychappA]

A senior/honors thesis was not part of my undergrad cirriculum, but regardless I had 3 paper publications (1 first author) and 3 posters when I applied and have 3 other papers (2 first author) that will hopefully be submitted before I start grad school at the end of the summer. I agree with everyone else that it varies significantly from lab to lab. I have worked my butt off on some projects & have not gotten my name on the resulting papers, but then did some simple data analysis for another project & was included on the publication.

There were a few things that I think helped a lot:
1) I volunteered for pretty much any project that I could get my hands on in the labs I worked in.
2) I actually talked to the professor that I was working with as an undergrad and told him I was interested in doing an independant project.
3) I became close to a couple of the people that I worked for (not for the purpose of publishing, just bc they were awesome) and they included me on projects bc they cared about and believed in me and therefore had an interest in furthering my career. The point being, stick around the people who treat you well.

The final thing is that you may want to consider taking a year or two off and working a research job. I took 3 years off and am incredibly glad that I did because I have gained some amazing experiences and skills in that time. Plus, this gives you a much better chance of getting published.

In sum, I think it is definitely possible to publish as an undergrad. It just requires a good deal of initiative and hardwork, and also some luck. Hope this is helpful advice!

 

[psychwanabe]

I think a lot of it depends on the desire of professors to be helpful in the process. I was fortunate to be in a lab in which the prof knew what we needed to get into graduate school (I was still somewhat clueless when I joined her lab), and she worked hard to teach us and to give us opportunities to publish. With her guidance, I first-authored a poster for a child-health conference, co-authored a paper that was submitted to a journal during my application process (later accepted), and co-authored a paper (on which a grad student was the PI) which was submitted as well.

If an undergrad knows what they need and isn't getting the help from faculty, it can be a lot tougher, but certainly not impossible.

 

[cara susanna]

If I get listed as an author with the current project in our lab, I'll probably be one of the last authors. Haha.

 

[mewantphd]

I think a lot of it depends on what type of lab you're in... how comfortable your advisor is with publishing undergrads, and how much work you put in. I hope to be 2nd author on what i'm working on...

 

[paramour]

I think a lot of it depends on what type of lab you're in... how comfortable your advisor is with publishing undergrads, and how much work you put in. I will be 2nd author on my honors thesis... but that is because my lab pumps out papers like crazy and my advisor expects it of the honors students...!

I admittedly know jack about honors theses (b/c we didn't have them at my uni), but why wouldn't you be 1st author on your own thesis?

 

[JockNerd]

I admittedly know jack about honors theses (b/c we didn't have them at my uni), but why wouldn't you be 1st author on your own thesis?

Usually the honours thesis is run on archival data (because of the time constraints), or it's mostly the prof's idea (because the initial student ideas are often unfeasible). In most situations the student doesn't contribute enough to the publishable product to count as first author, and APA guidelines only ensure authorship for masters theses and dissertations.

Doesn't always go that way though. I was first author on the pubs coming out of my thesis, as were several of the other people in my honours class.

 

[mewantphd]

Pretty much what JockNerd said... the data has already been collected, and ideas were pretty much thrown to me - what I could do, what I couldn't, what is taken, what isn't. I will be writing the whole thing... though, but my advisor will be editing it, helping me submit it for publication, etc.

*shrug* I'm happy to be 2nd author. As an undergrad I don't think it is too shabby 😉