Author #47 out of 169
April 29, 2012 10:20 AM Subscribe
How I do I cite a massively multi-authored paper on my CV?
I just learned that I will be included in the author list of two papers that will appear in Nature. There are more than a hundred authors, and I am not among the first 20. I know how I would cite these in a paper (Author 1, Author 2, et al), but how should I list these on my CV?
This sort of thing is very unusual in my discipline (social sciences), in which conventions dictate that we keep author lists in order, e.g.:
Author 1, Author 2, googly, et al. "Blah Blah Blah" Journal of Blahdy-Blah
It would be strange to not have my name on the author list, and I would not be comfortable changing the order in a way that might give the impression that I am giving myself more credit than is due. Any suggestions?
I just learned that I will be included in the author list of two papers that will appear in Nature. There are more than a hundred authors, and I am not among the first 20. I know how I would cite these in a paper (Author 1, Author 2, et al), but how should I list these on my CV?
This sort of thing is very unusual in my discipline (social sciences), in which conventions dictate that we keep author lists in order, e.g.:
Author 1, Author 2, googly, et al. "Blah Blah Blah" Journal of Blahdy-Blah
It would be strange to not have my name on the author list, and I would not be comfortable changing the order in a way that might give the impression that I am giving myself more credit than is due. Any suggestions?
Also, a CV is meant to start the conversation about your contributions, not be the be-all, end-all list of citations of your contributions. I think the elision is justified to save space; any conversation sparked by the CV is where you can clarify that you were Author No. 65 or what have you.
posted by limeonaire at 10:27 AM on April 29, 2012
posted by limeonaire at 10:27 AM on April 29, 2012
Wow, that is a hard one.
I would list as many as can reasonably fit, at least a bit more than the number of authors you use before et al, ellipsis, your name, ellipsis, Last author (or last few depending on context)
So,
Whatsit DR, Whosit JZ, Grump FW, Coolpostdoc R, Whoisthatagain RN, ..., Googly MF, ..., Oldfart A. Blah Blah Blah. Journal of Blahdy-Blah
posted by Blasdelb at 10:37 AM on April 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
I would list as many as can reasonably fit, at least a bit more than the number of authors you use before et al, ellipsis, your name, ellipsis, Last author (or last few depending on context)
So,
Whatsit DR, Whosit JZ, Grump FW, Coolpostdoc R, Whoisthatagain RN, ..., Googly MF, ..., Oldfart A. Blah Blah Blah. Journal of Blahdy-Blah
posted by Blasdelb at 10:37 AM on April 29, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I have seen people list things like:
Haughey M, West J, Millard J, (44 other authors), Googly G et al., (120 other authors), Paphnuty J, Roe R.
posted by grouse at 10:42 AM on April 29, 2012 [10 favorites]
Haughey M, West J, Millard J, (44 other authors), Googly G et al., (120 other authors), Paphnuty J, Roe R.
posted by grouse at 10:42 AM on April 29, 2012 [10 favorites]
Do you have to cite things on your CV the same way you would in a paper? On my CV, I list pubs like this:
2012. "Blah Blah In Whatever-dee-doo." Journal of Stuff 21:3. With Jethro Q. Walrustitty and Aaron A. Aaronson.
at which point your big pub just becomes
2012. "Big Science Paper." Nature XX:Y. With LeadAuthor 1, LeadAuthor 2, et al.
Or, if you want to be careful,
2012. "Big Science Paper." Nature XX:Y. With LeadAuthor 1, LeadAuthor 2, et al. x'th of X authors.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:02 AM on April 29, 2012 [2 favorites]
2012. "Blah Blah In Whatever-dee-doo." Journal of Stuff 21:3. With Jethro Q. Walrustitty and Aaron A. Aaronson.
at which point your big pub just becomes
2012. "Big Science Paper." Nature XX:Y. With LeadAuthor 1, LeadAuthor 2, et al.
Or, if you want to be careful,
2012. "Big Science Paper." Nature XX:Y. With LeadAuthor 1, LeadAuthor 2, et al. x'th of X authors.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:02 AM on April 29, 2012 [2 favorites]
grouse's solution looks better than mine, the parentheses work well and it is more descriptive without using more space. I'd take out the et al. though
posted by Blasdelb at 11:14 AM on April 29, 2012
posted by Blasdelb at 11:14 AM on April 29, 2012
I didn't actually mean to have the "et al." in there. So, yes, what Blasdelb said.
posted by grouse at 11:19 AM on April 29, 2012
posted by grouse at 11:19 AM on April 29, 2012
Haughey M, West J, Millard J, (44 other authors), Googly G et al., (120 other authors), Paphnuty J, Roe R.
Yeah, I've seen that too.
posted by yoink at 11:25 AM on April 29, 2012
Yeah, I've seen that too.
posted by yoink at 11:25 AM on April 29, 2012
Response by poster: This is super-helpful. I agree that grouse's looks most economical. Many thanks!
Plus I like the idea of being a paper with Matt, Jessamyn, and Cortex. Let's make it happen!
posted by googly at 7:02 PM on April 29, 2012
Plus I like the idea of being a paper with Matt, Jessamyn, and Cortex. Let's make it happen!
posted by googly at 7:02 PM on April 29, 2012
Best answer: On my publications I do this as:
Title of Paper, First Author, Second Author, Third Author, et al. (+ 68 co-authors including T. McTootsalot), Year, Journal, Volume, Page
posted by Tooty McTootsalot at 7:55 PM on April 29, 2012
Title of Paper, First Author, Second Author, Third Author, et al. (+ 68 co-authors including T. McTootsalot), Year, Journal, Volume, Page
posted by Tooty McTootsalot at 7:55 PM on April 29, 2012
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posted by limeonaire at 10:24 AM on April 29, 2012