Take the following scenario. You are in grad school and you worked really hard on a project and it is finally ready to be published. This study is the pinnacle of your accomplishments in grad school, one that will bring you a great deal of respect when you interview for jobs. Your supervisor reviews the manuscript and he is so satisfied that he is ready to send it off immediately. The next day, however, he asks you to see him in his office. When you take a seat you sense that something is wrong, and start to get anxious as he closes the door. His voice is somber as starts speaking.
“You are a very productive graduate student, but results are not everything. I hold my group up the highest standards, and I expect everyone to respect the basic rules of ethics. I was so satisfied with your manuscript that I almost send it to a journal yesterday. Then, perhaps instinctively, I asked Professor Johnson to take a look at it.” You cringe at the sound of the professor’s name. “She called me this morning and was extremely upset. Do you know why?” You take a deep breath, as you utter, “I think I do.”
“Professor Johnson could have gotten us into a lot of trouble if she had read this paper after it was published. She told me that Janice Michaels from her lab generated all the data in Figures 1 and 2. Why did you leave off their names from the paper? I will assume it was an honest mistake rather a way for you to claim all the credit. I do find it surprising, however, that you did not even mention Professor Johnson in our discussion yesterday or suggest that she reviews the manuscript. Of course, there is no harm done because we caught it before the paper was published. But I do hope you learned your lesson and will not neglect anyone who contributed to this paper.”
You come out of your supervisor’s office, still shaking. Was it an honest mistake, or did you want to get all the credit? After all, a paper with two authors (with you as first author), will certainly get you more credit than a paper with four or even more authors. It is too late to ponder now. Your manuscript will be submitted, but you lost your supervisor’s respect.
Now, take the following even more serious scenario. You are in your 6th year, and have only published one 2nd author paper. Your supervisor does not think the other work (where you would be 1st author) is publishable. It is good enough to graduate, however, and he is letting you defend next semester. What will you do with such a minute publication record? Can you even apply to academia? In a moment of desperation, you write up the manuscript, giving credit to everyone who deserves it, and put your supervisor’s name as the corresponding author. You are ready to send it off, but something holds you back. Is this the right thing to do?
The first scenario is serious, but one could argue that it was supervisor’s fault as well, because he should have known where the data came from (in groups with many members it is common for professors to lose track of all the data, particularly from senior students whom they trust.)
In the second scenario, however, your supervisor told you specifically he did not want to publish it. If he finds out you submitted a paper without his approval, he could expel you. What can you do to convince him to publish? You can give him the typed up manuscript to see if he changes his mind once he sees how much effort you put into it.
Do these stories sound like outlandish scenarios? They are actually both based on true stories of students in grad school.