Chapter 4 How to List the Authors and Addresses 1

Agenda The order of the names Definition of Authorship Defining the order : an example Proper and consistent form Listing the addresses Purposes 2

The order of the names What is the right order?  Unfortunately, there are no agreed-upon rules or generally accepted conventions. Some authors, perhaps to avoid arguments among themselves, agree to list their name alphabetically. 3

The order of the names (cont.) If there are three or more authors, the “important” author will want the first or last position, but not in between. A countervailing and more modern tendency has been to define the first author as the senior author and primary progenitor of the work being reported. 4

The order of the names (cont.) The trend toward collaborative research is steady increasing. Thus the average number of authors per paper is on the rise. 5

Definition of Authorship The listing of authors should include those, who actively contributed to the overall design and execution of the experiments. The first author being acknowledged as the senior author, the second author being the primary associate. 6

Definition of Authorship (cont.) Each listed author should have made an important contribution to the study being reported. What accounts for the tendency to list a host of authors?  Some workers wheedle or cajole their colleagues so that they become authors of most or all of the paper. 7

Definition of Authorship (cont.) In short, the scientific paper should list as authors only those who contributed substantially to the work. 8

Defining the order : an example Scientist A, Technician B, Scientist C 9

Proper and consistent form As to names of authors, the preferred designation normally is first name, middle initial, last name. In general, scientific journals do not print either degrees or titles after authors’ names. 10

Listing the addresses With one author, one address is given. If, before publication, the author has moved to a different address, the new address should be indicated in a “Present Address” footnote. When two or more authors are listed, each in a different institution, the addresses should be listed in the same order as the authors. 11

Listing the addresses (cont.) Clear identification of authors and addresses is also of prime importance to several of the secondary services. When authors can be properly identified can their publications be grouped together in citation indexes. 12

Purposes An address serves two purposes  It serves to identify the author.  It also supplies (or should supply) the mail address. Unless a scientist wishes to publish anonymously, a full name and a full address should be considered obligatory. 13