Last author?!

[acetonile]

I recently asked my PI how to cite a paper that we're going to publish that took about 3 years of work. He gave me the citation and I looked at it and saw I was the LAST AUTHOR. I spent loads of time working on that thing and put a lot of heart into it. My roommate who only worked in the lab a fraction of the time I did got placed as second to last. My question is, does it look bad to be the last author? Opinions and comments are welcome.

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[RDood]

I recently asked my PI how to cite a paper that we're going to publish that took about 3 years of work. He gave me the citation and I looked at it and saw I was the LAST AUTHOR. I spent loads of time working on that thing and put a lot of heart into it. My roommate who only worked in the lab a fraction of the time I did got placed as second to last. My question is, does it look bad to be the last author? Opinions and comments are welcome.

Um, last author is the big author in a listing of authors. I'm shocked your PI didn't put himself there. It's a huge compliment, not a diss. Be proud.

 

[dr.z]

I recently asked my PI how to cite a paper that we're going to publish that took about 3 years of work. He gave me the citation and I looked at it and saw I was the LAST AUTHOR. I spent loads of time working on that thing and put a lot of heart into it. My roommate who only worked in the lab a fraction of the time I did got placed as second to last. My question is, does it look bad to be the last author? Opinions and comments are welcome.

Are you on the very end? Last author usally is the senior author of the paper which is usually the P.I. Maybe it is different in your case.

 

[relentless11]

Um, last author is the big author in a listing of authors. I'm shocked your PI didn't put himself there. It's a huge compliment, not a diss. Be proud.

Depends, but yea, for the most part. Last author usually equals the person who has in charge of the overall operation...e.g., the PI. The person who gets first author is the one that did the most work, while the second author did the next most amount of work, and/or mentored the first person (as in the case of undergrad and grad students).

But yea it depends, since that format is not etched in stone per se. Sometimes authors choose to just go in the order of absolute contribution. In the end, I wouldn't worry about being first, second, middle, or last author....they're all considered a publication. Just know your research.

 

[acetonile]

Thanks! I guess I can stop freaking out now.

 

[MinnyGophers]

If you're the dead last author, meaning there is no name after yours ( not even the PI's), it's an immense honor. Usually, the PIs put their names there, as it means it's the person in charge of the whole project.
If I were you I'd go thank the PI

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Makes sense cuz I was excited about being listed as second author on one paper till I learned that PIs go all upside down backwards Asian style when writing the credits on papers.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Actually since the typical PHD student is usually of Chinese or Korean descent, and generally don't spend more than 3 days in America before crossing the big blue to work in a lab, PIs probably just wrote it backwards over the last several decades so their students would understand.

 

[ssman]

stop satisfying the narcissistic troll

how could anyone believe it..

 

[acetonile]

Hey. I'm not a troll. My PI and I haven't always been on the best of terms, mainly because he has some odd social issues. I was truly concerned about this.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Don't get a rec letter from him, change labs, and on your last day prop his door open a little and set an open can of paint atop his door and run.

 

[acetonile]

I see why you call yourself "eternalrage" now.

 

[miravyn]

Some SDNers are really big jerks. Acetonile had a geniune concern and was just asking for opinions. There's no need to be mean.

BTW. Congrats on being listed as LAST AUTHOR. You worked really hard and truly earned it.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Some SDNers are really big jerks. Acetonile had a geniune concern and was just asking for opinions. There's no need to be mean.

BTW. Congrats on being listed as LAST AUTHOR. You worked really hard and truly earned it.

And some SDNers have NO sense of humor at all. Acetonile had his genuine concern addressed within the first two replies. At one point he himself states:

Thanks! I guess I can stop freaking out now.

Who died and made you internet police. Get a sense of humor, maybe it will relax your anus enough to dislodge that enormous stick.

 

[miravyn]

And some SDNers have NO sense of humor at all. Acetonile had his genuine concern addressed within the first two replies. At one point he himself states:



Who died and made you internet police. Get a sense of humor, maybe it will relax your anus enough to dislodge that enormous stick.

Oh, you were trying to be funny. I didn't get that.

 

[Duckwizard]

My professor would always mention, if you're going to publish something and there are three authors, do anything at all cost not to be the third author. No one ever remembers the third author.

Anyhow, don't sweat it, you're on the paper nevertheless.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Oh, you were trying to be funny. I didn't get that.

I was talking about how PI's write their credits to appease FOBs? And to do the old paint can above the door number on your PI and run? How can that be taken seriously?!?!?!?

 

[dantt]

I'm not sure why OP should be happy he's listed as last author. There is obviously some kind of misunderstanding here. A PI, unless he's the first author, is ALWAYS the last author in a paper...unless there's another PI who's lab collaborated more (if that makes sense). Yes, it would be a great honor to be listed as the last author but the fact of the matter is OP is not a PI. He's an undergraduate student researcher.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Well if he did the bulk of his research, maybe the PI was being nice. Or, I have also heard that the last author is often the corresponding author, maybe since OP did all the work, PI felt it would be best to list him as that.

 

[dantt]

Well if he did the bulk of his research, maybe the PI was being nice. Or, I have also heard that the last author is often the corresponding author, maybe since OP did all the work, PI felt it would be best to list him as that.

That is correct, the last author is often the corresponding author. However, the corresponding author is almost always the PI. Primary authors are often students and post docs and hence tend to move around a lot.

 

[Ultra7]

How many authors are there total? Where is the PI listed as an author?

PIs are almost always listed last as previously stated. If there is more than one PI, the main PI is listed last and the others second to last, third to last, etc., in reverse order of who contributed most. In rare cases somethimes PIs are listed first.

As has been previously stated, first author should be the person who contributed most to the paper. Having at least one first author paper, while not absolutely necessary to get a PhD, is pretty important because it shows you did a significant and original body of work. Being first author has a lot of meaning.

Second author means less. You know the second author did less work than the first author, but how much less? If there are a whole bunch of authors, maybe first author did 80% of the work and everyone else did 1-2%. If there are 3-5 authors, second author has a bit more meaning.

Third, fourth, fifth, etc.: I think the distinction for any authors further down than second is pretty meaningless. You did enough work to be listed as an author, but were not a major contributor (that is first and in some cases 2nd author). If you know what the paper is about and can talk about it intelligently, that is more important than where exactly you are listed. I don't know where you are listed, but if your friend was further than 2nd, I wouldn't worry about it--be happy you were listed as an author! You could have gotten an acknowledgement.

 

[RaaMD]

Many applicants don't even have being an author as part of their resume. If anything, it'll be a bonus wherever you are placed at on the publishing.