Abstract
Dozens of excellent papers have recently been written that describe best practices for publishing journal articles with undergraduates (see “Engaging Undergraduates in Publishable Research: Best Practices,” Frontiers in Psychology); for the most part, these involve students as co-authors in general rather than as lead authors. In this paper, I specifically focus on how to guide undergraduates through the process of first authorship. After describing potential barriers, I discuss issues of authorship contribution before outlining several successful strategies I've developed during my 24 years of collaborating with undergraduates. Although mentoring students to be first authors can be challenging, the rewards can also be immense—for both the students and the faculty mentors who are up to the challenge.
Highlights
Dozens of excellent papers have recently been written that describe best practices for publishing journal articles with undergraduates; for the most part, these involve students as co-authors in general rather than as lead authors
It’s hard to know for certain how common it is for undergraduates to publish as first authors, but informal discussions with psychology colleagues around the world who collaborate with undergraduates suggest that it is far less common than undergraduates publishing as non-lead authors
Much has been written about the ethics of assigning authorship credit in the sciences and social sciences, and attempts have been made to fairly determine authorship order by (a) surveying past authors about their experiences (e.g., Wagner et al, 1994; Sandler and Russell, 2005; Moore and Griffin, 2006; Geelhoed et al, 2007), (b) assessing reactions to hypothetical authorship scenarios (e.g., Costa and Gatz, 1992; Bartle et al, 2000; Apgar and Congress, 2005), (c) proposing step-by-step decision-making models (Fine and Kurdek, 1993; Foster and Ray, 2012; Maurer, 2017), and (d) outlining quantitative systems that assign weighted points to tasks associated with publishing (e.g., Winston, 1985; Kosslyn, 2015)
Summary
Reviewed by: Gary Leo Dunbar, Central Michigan University, United States Kevin Holmes, Colorado College, United States. Specialty section: This article was submitted to Educational Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
