Sorry i had a quick look to see if there was a similar thread but couldn't find one.

I am a new PhD student currently working in the south. The bit of research i am currently involved with, my supervisor and a post doc in the lab intend to publish of which i have been told my name will be included on this paper that they are currently writing.

I know publications look good on the Cv, however i dont feel like my contribution to the research is valid and that i am merely being used as a tool to do their work as they arent in the lab much.

To added to that i have overheard, and heard from other sources that my supervisor and the post doc constantly belittle and downput the work that i have been doing so they can get their crappy publication despite them doing no work at all despite the original proof of concept.

I am sorry for the rant so here is the question.

Have any of you ever rejected a spot on the authors list?

Is there any way of letting them know that i don't want to be included on their publication without snapping and telling i hate them all?


Thanks in advanced

New blood

I'm not sure I understand. It seems to me though that there is no harm in accepting. They'll use your work regardless and at least you get something out of it. As I say I may have missed something but that is the way I see it.

Hope you feel better about it all soon though...it's a shame you feel that way about your supervisor and that they'd behave that way.

I just don't understand why they spend their time tearing my work to pieces saying its rubbish,  then contradicting them selves   only to say yeah  we want to publish your data.  Which the same data they said i should repeat now is ok to publish for some reason. 

I guess i just don't want to have anything more to do with them :(  and the paper would probably involve more work on my behalf

I'd say stick with it. It is a publication which are very important for the CV. I've heard of people doing much less and getting on a publication. I think some supervisors just tag their supervisees names on work to give them a leg-up in their career anyway.

If you were working in an office in some big company, you wouldn't deny that you'd worked on the big important project, so don't take your name off it - you collected the data etc. so you deserve to be a names author.

Thanks for the replies. Ive calmed down a bit now, so thinking a bit more rationaly.

Glad you're feeling a bit better now. For the record I agree that you should go with it - sounds a very frustrating situation but don't shoot yourself in the foot and turn down a publication.

Hey get ur name publsished. ave done several publications inserting names for my proffessors. some were Phds but my publications made one full proffesor and another it earned them Deans position......myself i got studentship coz of publications..... the question should be who is the principal author negotiate for that young blood. but if its in a fake journal then u dont need it. cheers