Publishing work

[OrphanageCaretaker]

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I want to be as competative as the next guy when it comes to applications and I have been looking through the accepted students into several schools and some of them with midrange GPA's and DAT's got in. Not to bag on them but they also published work or were co-authors. My question is, what exactly did they publish? Is it a groundbreaking discovery in the field of dentistry or something intriguing found in a research class, or could it be a current event topic that was published in an undergrad school newspaper article? I have yet to know if this surely makes a significant impression on adcoms for apps but hey if it catches their eye, it's worth a shot

 

[shonster460]

In most cases, at least for undergrad research, these 'publications' are co-author contributions to a peer-reviewed paper. Unless you are really special, you won't get a first author publication from your commitment to undergraduate research, although this can vary with respect to the field you work in. It's most likely that these publications your peers are getting result from doing a couple of experiments in the lab that contributed to a research project that was eventually published. You rarely find undergraduate students pioneering their own research and getting a first-author publication, but it can happen.

To clarify, the authors on a research article are sequenced according to contribution. Thus, the first name usually contributes the most to the project, and then the second, third, etc. The PI who manages the project is usually the last author.

EDIT: Also, publications are great but simply doing research to show that you have that experience is great too. Don't expect to get a publication after a couple of months of research. It's not that easy and it depends on the field/how lucky you are. For example, if your PI wants you to do simple assays that the lab already has protocol for then you might get a publication. However, if he wants you to do preliminary screens that may or may not work, then you probably won't. So again, don't do research in order to get a publication. Just do the research and convey what you learned from it eloquently in your application. A publication would be an added bonus.

 

[predental75]

I took some time off and worked in a cardiovascular research lab - so clearly not dentistry related. When I leave this summer, I will have at least 5 co-author publications and 2 first-author publications. I'm from a graduate level lab that cranks out lots of papers, so my numbers might be a rarity for only working somewhere for 2.5 years. I am one of those with a midrange GPA and mid/high range DAT, and think that this helped me get interviews and subsequent acceptances at dental schools. Like mentioned, I think it's the experience that helped, not the actual number of publications...at least for just DDS (not necessarily a combined degree). So it definitely doesn't need to be dental related, and you don't need publications. I think research can go a long way when applying, especially when it is to a research oriented dental school. Best of luck!

 

[doc toothache]

There seems to be a little confusion on the relevance of publications. It is unlikely that an undergrad student has done research that has changed the course of mankind. Thus, whether a name in the publication is listed first or last is irrelevant since most people reading research articles will have no problem identifying the real author. The importance of publications or with research experience has more to do with setting an applicant apart from the rest of the crowd and the exposure to research methodology/laboratory techniques. An interest in research may well be relevant with dental school that have significant emphasis on research; after all, there is a contingent of graduates from dental school who will be involved in research.

 

[predental75]

There seems to be a little confusion on the relevance of publications. It is unlikely that an undergrad student has done research that has changed the course of mankind. Thus, whether a name in the publication is listed first or last is irrelevant since most people reading research articles will have no problem identifying the real author. The importance of publications or with research experience has more to do with setting an applicant apart from the rest of the crowd and the exposure to research methodology/laboratory techniques. A interest in research may well be relevant with dental school that have significant emphasis on research; after all, there is a contingent of graduates from dental school who will be involved in research.

What?? Maybe when applying to dental school, being a first author vs. a co-author might not be such a big deal, but one's placement on the paper is definitely relevant. The first author gets the most recognition and generally did the majority of the work and wrote the paper. The last author is the corresponding author and is generally the PI (or one of the PI's on the paper). Sure, if you are in the middle somewhere it might not make too much of a difference. But let me be clear, a first author publication is a much bigger deal than a co-author publication, always. Whether you are an undergrad or a technician. Again, is it needed for dental school? No, absolutely not. Could it help? Of course. Sorry to bomb your post with BS about authorship - just wanted to clarify this extremely incorrect statement. (The rest of what doc toothache says, I agree with.)

 

[doc toothache]

What?? Maybe when applying to dental school, being a first author vs. a co-author might not be such a big deal, but one's placement on the paper is definitely relevant. The first author gets the most recognition and generally did the majority of the work and wrote the paper. The last author is the corresponding author and is generally the PI (or one of the PI's on the paper). Sure, if you are in the middle somewhere it might not make too much of a difference. But let me be clear, a first author publication is a much bigger deal than a co-author publication, always. Whether you are an undergrad or a technician. Again, is it needed for dental school? No, absolutely not. Could it help? Of course. Sorry to bomb your post with BS about authorship - just wanted to clarify this extremely incorrect statement. (The rest of what doc toothache says, I agree with.)

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