I don't get it; my supervisor wants to present a paper that I've basically written 100% on my own? He said that either one of us could go; why either one of us? It's my paper... : /
A part of me feels that he just wants to go to the conference to network; nothing more. Then... how about me?

I hope someone can help me : ( Am I overreacting?

If he/she is your supervisor then in my opinion it is his paper to. Anything I produce I consider my supervisors as co-authors whether they were involved directly or indirectly. Just my opinion though others will disagree with me. Remember it is in your supervisors best interests to see you do well so trust thier judgements and that they aren't out for themselves only

Hi tt_dan,

I think it is quite common for supervisors to present students' papers. Last year I even prepared the presentation for him :) I still get to have a publication in the proceedings.

I don't know if I will make it this year either (I always end up snowed under with work), and if I manage to get 2 weeks away from my desk, I prefer to spend my holidays with my family (especially my amazing 5-year old niece) than a bunch of socially inept academics. Seriously.

As I understand that he gives you the opportunity to go. Would you accept it?

lemonjuice, it depends on the field. In sciences it's very rare for papers to have a single author and pretty much unheard of for a PhD student to be a single author, even if they've effectively done most/all of the work

If you consult your supervisor and use his/her feed-backs in your works, in my opinion, this means he/she has labor. It's very usual all around the world to share work with supervisor. Also if you plan to study with him/her post-doc, you should take account of good relations with a senior colleague.

Academics do often present their students' work at conferences, but should give credit to you when presenting and your name should also be on it. But if you've prepared the paper with the understanding that you will present it, it seems unfair to then expect you to step aside. I would tell your supervisor that you'd like to present it yourself, if possible, as it is good experience etc, and see what they say. It could be that money is a problem, there might only be enough for one of you to go, to pay for travel, accommodation, registration fee etc. Sometimes there is some funding that students can apply for to pay for their expenses, both from the conference itself and from your uni. Try to find out from your supervisor if the issue is money, and see if there is anything you could apply for, so that you could both go to the conference.

Hi

It depends on the contribution made by a supervisor to claim a joint author. In my case I have taken my own initiative to present conference papers. The worst scenario was when my second supervisor repackaged my PhD thesis, changed the references, and has published an article based on my thesis and he is also going to publish a book. He has been replaced but the problem with me is with regard to my claim about the original contribution of my thesis.

Hi Dan

This supervisor knew that I was going to publish papers and a monograph based on my thesis. I made an official complaint and threaten the university that I will withdraw from the course and sue the university unless the supervisor was replaced and an appropriate disciplinary action is taken against him. It seems the university is not keen to take disciplinary action as they want me to prove plagiarism.

tt_dan, things like this happen in the academic world, its rather strange to many so I dont suppose you are overreacting at all. Methinks tho you should approach your supervisor and speak to him about it and if you r interested in presenting it urself make that known plainly.

This second supervisor was not based in the same country where I am doing my PhD, and we used to communicate by emails: I used to send him my chapters as attachments and he would read them.