7 Publications

7.1 Authorship

We aim to discuss authorship early in the research process and have continuing conversations regarding team member roles. Plans can change and contributions may evolve over time. If you have authorship questions during the process of working on a project, we want you to feel empowered to ask these questions!

It is an expectation in the Lab that no new authors are invited to join an existing Lab project (i.e., where Dr. Rose is the lead PI) without the prior agreement of, at a minimum, Dr. Rose and the first author(s).

The Lab follows the ICMJE recommendations regarding who is included as an author.

What does first authorship mean in our Lab? Being the first author typically means that you are: (1) an intellectual lead on the project, (2) making major contributions conducting the scientific work (e.g., developing methodology, analyzing data), and (3) a main writer on the manuscript, usually crafting the first draft. For some projects, a first authorship role may also involve project management with collaborators and partners. All of these activities are done under the mentorship of Dr. Rose as the PI with substantial feedback in an apprenticeship model.

7.1.1 Does Code Review Merit Authorship?

Code review is an important part of the scientific process, and we require Lab members to have their code reviewed (Chapter 8). However, code review alone does not necessarily merit authorship. Authorship requires substantial contributions to the scientific work, as described above. That said, code review can organically lead to deeper involvement in the project that may merit authorship.

7.2 Acknowledgments

Grants that fund research in the Lab must be recognized in our manuscripts, typically in the Acknowledgments section. If you have questions about which grant funded our work, ask Dr. Rose. See Section 3.3 for grant information, including grant numbers.

7.3 Preprints

We typically post preprints on arXiv, medRxiv, or as an NBER Working Paper.

7.4 On Least Publishable Units

We aim to write papers with an appropriate scope suitable for the goals of the project. We do not focus on salami slicing or least publishable unit papers. This is not to confuse least publishable units with short, rigorous papers. Short papers can be good and high quality with strong standards.

7.5 Types of Papers

The structure and content of a manuscript varies by discipline and audience.

Example Lab publications by journal type: statistics, medical, health policy, health services research, health economics, epidemiology, computer science conference paper.

7.6 Publication-Ready Data Visualization

Creating effective data visualizations for publication is a skill that takes practice. We recommend the following resources to help you create publication-ready figures:

Fundamentals of Data Visualization by Claus O. Wilke (free online book; created in R but does not include code in the text)
Data Visualization: A Practical Introduction by Kieran Healy (partially free online; includes code in R)

We also encourage you to seek feedback on your figures from Lab members and Dr. Rose, either individually or in a group setting.

7.7 Journals

The journal lists below are not exhaustive and largely focus on outlets where Lab members have previously published their work. Decisions about where to submit manuscripts for publication are made collaboratively to balance the needs and priorities of the team with as much deference as possible to what is best for the trainee author(s). We also publish in peer-reviewed conference proceedings, see Section 6.4.

Lab members can view our internal list of upcoming and recent publications here.

7.1 Authorship

7.1.1 Does Code Review Merit Authorship?

7.2 Acknowledgments

7.3 Preprints

7.4 On Least Publishable Units

7.5 Types of Papers

7.6 Publication-Ready Data Visualization

7.7 Journals

Health Economics & Policy

Epidemiology & Public Health

Statistics

Clinical

Health Informatics & Digital Health