THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING

Surprise Authorship, Credit and Responsibility

Author(s): Based on a scenario by Giovanni Flammia, a graduate student in Area II (computer science) graduate student at MIT.

In your first year as a graduate student, you worked in a research team with two other students and the supervising professor. Two years later, after the other students have graduated, you look through the proceedings of an important research symposium in your area and are surprised to come upon a paper with all the group members' names on it, including yours.

The paper is in two parts. The first part represents some of your group work. The second part concerns a loosely related point of theory. There is no issue of fraud or incompetence: the presentation and conclusions in both parts of the paper appear respectable, though you are not familiar enough with the theoretical background of the second part to be confident about vouching for it.

What, if anything can or should you do?

• Return to Research Ethics Module Supporting Pages

• Surprise Authorship, Credit, and Responsibility

• Survival Skills for Emerging Researchers

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