dear allstaters,
i would greatly appreciate any advice re the above subject.
when academically affiliated statisticians do contract work or consultancy
in their free time, the work is often such that publication in a biomedical
journal is within scope. this raises the issue of authorship. that is, in
two typical ways:
1. client offers second, third ect. authorship and wants discount off the
contract fee. is it usual to agree? is there a "going rate" in terms of
percents off, or any (if rough) guideline? is it viable to promise a partial
return of the fee if and only if the paper is accepted and actually
published, maybe even depending on the impact factor achieved? (note that
many clients expressly deny you any authorship because they regard your
output purely as a paid service)
2. client allows you to submit paper with first authorship. now, you need an
affiliation as a first author. of course, you cannot put your academic
workplace there because they have nothing to do with all this. you cannot
say "contract statistician" because the journal will not talk to you
anymore. can you be affiliated to a consultancy firm and be a first author
that way, or is it a real catch-22?
as i do have to see clearly on this, i would be really glad for any ideas,
written and unwritten rules that govern this tricky (or is it just me?)
issue in the statiscical community, in or outside the realm of these two
specific points.
thanks in advance and best wishes to all
laszlo
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