What are effective ways I can write and publish with co-authors?

What are effective ways I can write and publish with co-authors?

Why collaborate on a research or writing project?

• Two heads (or three, or more) are better than one

• Co-authors can divide up the work, and add different perspectives

• Scholars in some disciplines (the sciences and social sciences) often work in teams whereas others (the humanities) publish as sole authors

Are there times NOT to collaborate?

• If a co-author has been irresponsible in the past (failed to meet deadlines, reneged on their part of the project)

• If it’s not clear what the co-author’s role or contribution will be

• If you and the co-author have major disagreements about how to conduct the project and write it up

Decide on co-authors early on

• It is never too early to decide on whether someone will be a co-author of your project and subsequent article.

• If you meet with a colleague to discuss an idea for a research or writing project, they may assume that they will be a co-author.

• Make it clear at the outset if you are just running an idea by them for a project you will do by yourself, or if you are suggesting a collaboration.

• In the sciences and social sciences, larger projects may consist of multiple authors with different roles (e.g., statisticians, project managers who collect the data, researchers representing each country in international studies)

Decide on the order of authors when the writing begins

• The order of authors is important.

• The first author is usually considered the lead author, who did most of the work in conceptualizing and/or writing up the article.

• The last author is often considered the senior author (for example, the principal investigator of a large grant, or the advisor of a student’s project).

• Other authors are often listed based on how much time or effort they contributed to that project or article.

• There are some exceptions (e.g., mathematics, economics) where all authors are listed in alphabetical order.

Make sure people know whether or not they are co-authors

• Be sure to let all co-authors know that they will be listed on the article

• People who had very minor roles (e.g., a colleague who gave some advice in passing, someone who lent use of their office or standard equipment) are not co-authors, though they can be listed in the acknowledgements (if so, let them know that they will be listed; not everyone wants to be acknowledged in print).

• People who are paid for their role (e.g., for data entry, statistical consultation) are usually not co-authors.

Make sure every author reads every version of the article

• All authors will be held responsible for the entire content of the article, not just the sections that they wrote. There have been recent cases in the media where authors have been accused of plagiarism or fraud, sometimes years after the article was published.

• It is the first author’s responsibility to circulate every version of the article to all authors, including early drafts before the article is submitted, the final version of the article that is ready to be submitted, all revised versions if the journal’s editor asks for revisions, and the final page proofs.

Circulate versions of the article quickly, to one author at a time

• Once the lead author has written a draft of the article, they should:

• Email it to all authors and ask who has time to read it next. It helps to ask all authors about their schedule in the next few weeks.

• The next author should read and edit the article using track changes, and let the lead author know when they will be done. They should email their version of the article back to all authors, and the lead author should ask who can go next. And so on.

• The lead author needs to keep track of everyone’s timeline, and also needs to remind authors about this.

Best ways for co-authors to edit versions of the article

• In my opinion, it works best when the lead author has written a draft that is as close to the final version as possible (i.e., that includes the complete title page listing the order of authors and their affiliations, the abstract, key words, any acknowledgements, all sections of the text, and a complete bibliography).

• Also in my opinion, it works best when co-authors edit the actual text in track function and keep the “comment boxes” to a minimum unless they notice significant issues that need to be discussed.

• If there are too many comment boxes, a zoom discussion among all co-authors may be best to answer some of these issues and proceed.

• Authors can change the track function from “all markup” to “simple markup” while they are editing the article.

Make sure every author knows where the article will be submitted

• This discussion should happen early on, because the lead author will need to write the article based on the journal’s submission requirements (e.g., word count, US vs. UK spelling and grammar, other formatting requirements).

• But at this early stage, it’s also important for all authors to agree on where the article should go next if it is rejected. That saves a lot of time, because the lead author can then just rewrite the article for that next journal without having to ask all co-authors again.

Good luck! Let me know your experiences collaborating with co-authors