Hi Jeff, you raise an interesting and valid point that illustrates the complexities of the situation. I would respond that after the agreement is made for authorship, everyone involved has the responsibility to remain in contact, especially if they have any concerns about the content of the paper. If they don't, then the original agreement stands and they are a co-author. I do think the senior author has to make a good faith effort to find them prior to submitting the paper, but I always err on the side of generosity,as well as on the side of personal responsibility. The paper might be a surprise for them later on, but then again, it was their responsibility to keep in touch if they had concerns about quality, etc. In addition, aside from their concerns about the paper, people are rarely hurt by having coauthorship on a paper (there are exceptions, plagiarism for example, but let's assume this is a normal paper).
To address an even more complex situation, one of my post-docs and I are working on a model that was originally developed but never published by someone who has passed away. We have altered the model substantially (well my post-doc has anyway <g>) and the question arose of whether or not to include the dead originator. Everyone agreed that would be appropriate and that is how we will proceed. Regardless of your belief or not in the afterlife, if you view coauthorship as being earned rather than awarded then it doesn't even matter if you're dead or alive. Nonetheless, I do hope that the spirit of that person will look over my shoulder when I check that little box that says "All authors have read and approved the manuscript" <g>. Thanks for the thoughtful response. g2 On Sun, Aug 21, 2016 at 12:19 AM, Jeff Houlahan <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Gary and all, this one's an interesting one. Your position is one I > have a lot of sympathy for - it's generous and gives credit where it's > due. What makes this tricky is that it also gives responsibility that > somebody might not want to accept. I know it's unlikely and not that > common but there may be instances where somebody would prefer not to have > their name on a paper where they've done enough work to warrant > authorship. If my name showed up on a paper without me ever being aware > that it had been submitted I would be a little bothered. If I read the > paper and didn't agree with the interpretation I would be very unhappy. > That said, the idea of not giving credit to somebody who deserves it just > seems wrong. This is a rock and a hard place. Best, Jeff Houlahan > ------------------------------ > *From:* Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news < > [email protected]> on behalf of Gary Grossman < > [email protected]> > *Sent:* August 20, 2016 12:04 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [ECOLOG-L] Query on authorship > > Querido Jorge, this is a murky area of co-authorship except for one point. > Coauthorship is *earned* and should not be taken away because of some other > circumstance outside of the project responsibilities. Given that the second > student completed the work while they were at your institution, the simple > solution, given that they did indeed earn coauthorship, is to put them on > the paper with your institutional address. If you're worried about someone > contacting them then just asterisk their name and in the footnote put > "current address unknown". !Eso! g2 > > On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 3:24 PM, Jorge A. Santiago-Blay < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Query on authorship >> >> Dear Colleagues: >> >> I am writing a small paper resulting from research done with two >> undergraduates many years ago (and, later on, involving several other >> colleagues using cutting-edge technology). As the results became obvious, >> both of the students agreed (orally, in person) with me that we should get >> the research published. As far as I remember, there was no email or letter >> documenting that and, there was no manuscript, only the data and the >> methods we were using. >> >> The problem: I have located one of the former students (now a researcher >> at a major research institution), who is excited about getting the research >> published, but not the second student. >> >> Question: How to handle the contribution (including authorship) of the >> other person? Here are some options I see. >> >> a. *Omit the name of the person that has not been located* and indicate >> that another person was involved in the data collection but we were hot >> able to locate him/her to get his/her approval to use his/her name as an >> author. Under these circumstances, would it be OK to name the person in >> the Acknowledgments? Lately, I am asking permission to do that because >> sometimes some people prefer to remain anonymous. >> >> b. *Include the name of the person I cannot locate as an author*, an act >> of fairness and good faith on my part. If the person does not like the idea >> (and the paper is published) retract the name of the person in an erratum, >> later on, and assume responsibility for my error. A kind colleague did that >> to me once and, subsequently, it has resulted a long standing collaboration >> (and co-authorship in many papers, with my knowledge) :) >> >> c. *Nor use the data garnered by the person I cannot locate*. Although I >> am pretty sure I am authorized by the institution to use the data, as a >> general personal; preference, I like to ask permission. >> >> If you have something constructive to comment, kindly direct your >> comments to me, [email protected] , >> >> Apologies for potential duplicate emails. >> >> Sincerely, >> >> Jorge >> >> Jorge A. Santiago-Blay, PhD >> blaypublishers.com >> >> 1. Positive experiences for authors of papers published in *LEB* >> http://blaypublishers.com/testimonials/ >> >> 2. Free examples of papers published in *LEB*: http://blaypublishers. >> com/category/previous-issues/. >> >> 3. *Guidelines for Authors* and page charges of *LEB*: >> http://blaypublishers.com/archives/ *.* >> >> 4. Want to subscribe to *LEB*? http://blaypublishers.com/subscriptions/ >> >> >> http://blayjorge.wordpress.com/ >> http://paleobiology.si.edu/staff/individuals/santiagoblay.cfm >> > > > > -- > Gary D. Grossman, PhD > Fellow, American Fisheries Soc. > > Professor of Animal Ecology > Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources > University of Georgia > Athens, GA, USA 30602 > > Website - Science, Art (G. Grossman Fine Art) and Music > www.garygrossman.net > Blog - https://medium.com/@garydavidgrossman > Board of Editors - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation > Editorial Board - Freshwater Biology > Editorial Board - Ecology Freshwater Fish > > Hutson Gallery Provincetown, MA - www.hutsongallery.net/artists.html > > > -- Gary D. Grossman, PhD Fellow, American Fisheries Soc. Professor of Animal Ecology Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens, GA, USA 30602 Website - Science, Art (G. Grossman Fine Art) and Music www.garygrossman.net Blog - https://medium.com/@garydavidgrossman Board of Editors - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation Editorial Board - Freshwater Biology Editorial Board - Ecology Freshwater Fish Hutson Gallery Provincetown, MA - www.hutsongallery.net/artists.html
