3

Is it correct to remove a co-author from a resubmitted manuscript if the testing protocol was changed and the original experiments of the coauthor are no longer in the paper? The experiments were replaced, the result however is the same.

The co-author developed the method for this assay and worked on the project for at least 6 months. Can their work just be ignored by telling them that their measurements are not in the paper anymore and noone should be an author of the paper if they just measured „similar things“. This all went about behind the back of this co-author.

Sursula
  • 20,540
  • 8
  • 62
  • 121
Mnopqrs
  • 251
  • 2
  • 7
  • 5
    Not an answer to the technical question of ethics, but I've been a co-author on a paper where the contribution I'd made in early drafts had been entirely expunged by the final version. – Daniel Hatton Feb 18 '23 at 10:38
  • Good for you :-) this should be the healthy working environment – Mnopqrs Feb 18 '23 at 11:08
  • I'd say both leaving the co-author on the paper and removing them can be justified, so this has to be negotiated between the authors. – Christian Hennig Feb 18 '23 at 11:08
  • And if they do not negotiate? – Mnopqrs Feb 18 '23 at 11:09
  • Is it justified to ignore months of work by replacing the experiments if the results is the same? – Mnopqrs Feb 18 '23 at 11:11
  • @Mnopqrs My comment wasn't on your work relationship. It rather just addresses the question whether from the point of view of attributing the work in a paper somebody who has done what you described should be a co-author or not. From that point of view I say both are legitimate. There are other ways to "not ignore" the work than making the person co-author (e.g., that person may have been paid for this). This of course can change if the person in question has contributed more thought and ideas than just running the experiments that were eventually not used. – Christian Hennig Feb 18 '23 at 11:23
  • The coauthors idea was to run these experiments, and developed the method. The result was the same. No payment, only investment of a lot of time… – Mnopqrs Feb 18 '23 at 13:33
  • @Mnopqrs If you mean that the now removed co-author actually had the idea for the experiments and method that is now in the paper (I hadn't got that before), obviously they should be co-author. Your title says "changing of method" though!? If you want to have advice on what to do, you better write this in the question (and maybe give some more background about the situation) , rather than just asking "is this correct". – Christian Hennig Feb 18 '23 at 14:47
  • 2
    Is this the same situation as in your previous question? – Anyon Feb 18 '23 at 15:19
  • The situation has changed: first they told that they replaced the experiments because they had enough messpoints and didn’t need the original ones. They probably realized that it was not ok, now they are telling that the experiments are not exactly the same because they changed the protocol (in the manuscript however there is no change in the materials and methods) So there is no reason to be in the manuscript for „similar“ experiments… – Mnopqrs Feb 18 '23 at 16:48
  • From what I'm seeing here, you were excluded unfairly. If you can't find an academic way to fix that, you could very well sue them. – Victor Stafusa - BozoNaCadeia Feb 20 '23 at 22:51
  • See here for some better suggestions for how to proceed: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/62978/how-to-deal-with-an-author-who-worked-on-an-analysis-that-never-made-it-into-the – Buzz Feb 21 '23 at 01:38

2 Answers2

6

Others might have a different opinion on this. My opinion is that it is completely wrong to do so and the expunged person should take action if it is available.

They worked in good faith on the project, presumably. They offered ideas and contributed to conversations. Some of those conversations might, in principle, have cause the group to actually change direction. It is impossible to say, after the fact, that no contributions to the work defined broadly were made.

I'd treat it as a profound professional insult and would, myself, treat no one in that way, nor work with people who do.

Buffy
  • 363,966
  • 84
  • 956
  • 1,406
2

That is really wrong as @Buffy says. This is evident, since the authors went behind the co-author's back (I mean if this is ok - why hide it?).

I will add that this kind of behavior, can have far-reaching consequences. Not only will you lose faith with your (presumably no longer) coauthor, most academic sub disciplines are small (say, 50 labs). Word gets around, and this kind of behavior will make it more difficult for a lab to get new students, new collaborators and in some cases hurt the PI's career (if there's a consistent pattern).

In addition, if you're submitting to the same journal (or a journal within the same discipline), then the editor may find out and react accordingly. Furthermore, the removed co-author can easily block the publication (if they're feeling angry enough) by emailing the editor and letting them know. A decent editor would prevent these kinds of shenanigans.

Spark
  • 27,465
  • 10
  • 62
  • 101