Questions regarding textbook chapter co-authorships

[Dreaming big]

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Hey,

I have a few questions regarding publishing textbook chapters as a co-author. I recentely was given the oppertunity to be a coauthor (probably 3rd or 4th) in a textbook chapter about molecular biology.I had a few questions I was hoping you guys could answer. A search of pubmed would bring up the chapter from the textbook.



- Does this count as a regular publication? Does it hold the same value as a basic science publication?

- Would this make a considerable difference in med school admission? what about MD/PhD?

- How many people have textbook co-authorships? Is it rare and worthwhile?

- Would having 2 of these late authorship chapters be more valued than having one?




Thanks,
Dreaming Big

 

[Shifty B]

- Does this count as a regular publication? Does it hold the same value as a basic science publication?

Well, yes it counts as a publication. Textbooks and book chapters usually aren't peer reviewed publications and are listed on your CV either as book chapters or non-reviewed publications.

It typically does not have the same value as a basic science publication, which indicates that you did all the underlying work.

- Would this make a considerable difference in med school admission? what about MD/PhD?

Yes, I think it will make a difference for either. It's always nice to show that you've spent time on some work and have something tangible to show for it. It's certainly better than having no publications. If you have others, it's nice to have one more. Plus, it may be an interesting point of conversation for your interviews because some of your interviewers may bring it up. Will it make a considerable difference? Maybe not. But it is a small boost.

- How many people have textbook co-authorships? Is it rare and worthwhile?

It depends on what kind of book your talking about. Writing a chapter for a commonly used textbook by a well known author, say one that is used for some undergraduate/graduate courses, would be rare. Writing a chapter for any book is more common. Once you get into a subspecialty research area, there will often be books published that summarize the research in those fields. These books are much more common and many PIs are asked to write chapters for them.

Either way, it's probably worthwhile. You'll probably learn something about the topic as well as about how publication processes work.

- Would having 2 of these late authorship chapters be more valued than having one?

I'm not sure I understand the question. It's always better to have two publications than one, as long as they are the same quality. The only time it would be better to have one would be if you are talking about taking the content of one publication to split it into two.

 

[Dreaming big]

Thanks - anyone else have any input?

 

[Neuronix]

Thanks - anyone else have any input?

The same response as I gave you here in post #5 and #7 here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=688524

 

[Dreaming big]

The same response as I gave you here in post #5 and #7 here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=688524

Case report = textbook chapter?

This is a chapter in a textbook About- Ex. how fish can breathe underwater and our new research findings and how the findings change the field.

So its like: fish actually cannot breathe underwater, but rather they pretend to.

 

[Neuronix]

Case report = textbook chapter?

My point was that the case report has about the same application impact as the textbook chapter. It seems I have to be extremely explicit with you.

MD/PhD programs care that you have performed independent research for several years in a basic science research lab on a basic science research project. Being an author on a textbook chapter does not mean you did research. It means you reviewed other research and probably edited a lot of what someone else wrote or wrote with a ton of guidance. Thus, being named on a textbook chapter has very little impact on your application. For the millionth + 1 time, publications are not required for MSTPs, not even top ones, and don't have nearly the impact undergrads seem to think they do. The main factors are time served doing research, LORs, and interview. Obviously if you take the research you did and turn that into abstracts, posters, and publications, that will help.

Now if you want to do your PhD in clinical research, that's fine. But you need to be conducting clinical research projects. Case reports are generally the lowest form of clinical research and not what Epidemiology PhDs are looking to produce.

For MD every little bit counts, but only a little bit. If you keep accumulating case reports and book chapters and other clinically-related research, you may look like a clinical research scholar and that could help you get in. You still need the GPA and MCAT you would need otherwise.

 

[Shifty B]

Case report = textbook chapter?

This is a chapter in a textbook About- Ex. how fish can breathe underwater and our new research findings and how the findings change the field.

So its like: fish actually cannot breathe underwater, but rather they pretend to.

Fish pretending to breathe underwater! That is totally not what I expected.

 

[Dreaming big]

Fish pretending to breathe underwater! That is totally not what I expected.

That's why we are writing the chapter - the world NEEDS to know!

 

[Freak]

Maybe Fox and friends could interview you about these fish ... although they may have to google underwater first.

 

[z31]

Maybe Fox and friends could interview you about these fish ... although they may have to google underwater first.

^ love this!!

 

[iminindiana]

How many case reports and textbook chapters would make someone look like a clinical research scholar?

It typically does not have the same value as a basic science publication, which indicates that you did all the underlying work.

Yes, I think it will make a difference for either. It's always nice to show that you've spent time on some work and have something tangible to show for it. It's certainly better than having no publications. If you have others, it's nice to have one more. Plus, it may be an interesting point of conversation for your interviews because some of your interviewers may bring it up. Will it make a considerable difference? Maybe not. But it is a small boost.

It depends on what kind of book your talking about. Writing a chapter for a commonly used textbook by a well known author, say one that is used for some undergraduate/graduate courses, would be rare. Writing a chapter for any book is more common. Once you get into a subspecialty research area, there will often be books published that summarize the research in those fields. These books are much more common and many PIs are asked to write chapters for them.

If this is in conjunction with like 2 years of reserach at that lab that publishes the chapter, is it better because i stayed a long time and got this as the fruit of my labor?

 

[Shifty B]

To iminindiana: I suppose it's better that it's associated with a long period of research in one lab. But then again, it's not that much of a difference. It is always better to have shown a sustained level of commitment to research, whether in one lab or whatever.