Publications.

The short answer to this is, "yes."

Some profs put everyone on the paper, no matter how insignificant the roll.

Some only put people who made significant contributions (albeit ranging from major ones to minor ones).

The most significant point is where on the publication you are... 1st author... it's all you
2nd author... you've done some significant work
xth author... you did some work; but it wasn;t really your project...

Now if your prof is old school, he may put himself as a first author; but most of this has changed as journals say that the contributing author must be listed last (or first for some journals)...

I hope this helps.

C

 

people understand this - even for mstp admissions. just be able to talk sensibly about a topic and you'll be fine. publications are icing on the cake. on the other hand - if you are first or second aithor - you better know it inside out or you're in trouble

 

Jot got it on the dot!

Sorry I had to phrase it like that...

But just know what you did. If you were an undergrad researcher and were a 3rd-xth author... be prepared to answer the questions of what you did and what the overall aim of the project was. If you were one of the first authors, know it inside out or face the consequences. And the icing on the cake would then be to say what YOU plan to do next given the results. Of course you have to be enthusiastic about what you did. If you are blase and uninterested, you probably would be better off not listing that you were invovled in research-- because it will look too much like you are just doing it (the research) so that you can say you did it and not because of your motivation in scientific discovery, etc...

C

 

hah - took me a while to figure out that it rhymed. i can always tell who has just seen my name on sdn when i meet them at interviews cause they say jot (rhyming with dot). shouldn't give it away (its a good clue) but the name is pronounced jothe

enjoy!

-jot[he]