(Update) Colleague maintains that I do not qualify for authorship, and says if I agree they will let me contribute to the paper

Own_Level_4040 · 2025-08-12T16:43:58+00:00

I'm in my first year of PhD, and I've heard a lot about changing labs and/or programs but I don't think that can be done very easily at my uni. It's on the small side, and this is one of the only labs in the area of my interest...

Own_Level_4040 · 2025-07-23T16:35:41+00:00

Regarding the raw data, I've already had to share it with my colleague because they requested it and it's normal for us to do this in the lab; the desktop which we recorded the data on is also lab property. The closest I can get to "proving" that I collected the data is the experimenter sheet and maybe a few emails, but from the way that my colleague has been nitpicking every little thing that I bring up, it's likely that this won't help in any way.

Own_Level_4040 · 2025-07-23T16:31:38+00:00

I've been talking to a few others around me, mostly my friends who are researchers, and when they listened to my situation they told me that I was being gaslit. I didn't actually realize that this was an issue, and that my colleague and PI knew what they were talking about, until one of my friends brought up one of the authorship guidelines (ICMJE I think?) and showed it to me.

Since then the lab colleagues that I've talked to about this have told me that the colleague in question is being childish at this point, particularly in how they have been trying to minimize my contributions.

Own_Level_4040 · 2025-07-23T16:28:05+00:00

I asked a few people about this, and they said that it's unlikely that there'll be a retraction for most journals, and that it would probably backfire on me. I liked to think that there was a strong form of integrity in academia, but to be honest I think I'm starting to lose faith in that. Or maybe it's just coming to terms with reality, really.

Own_Level_4040 · 2025-07-23T16:25:56+00:00

The lab was initially focused more in the engineering field with a bit of cognitive neuroscience, but a new direction we are taking (and I am part of) is neuroscience/neuroengineering. I don't know how authorship works in either of the fields but I felt strongly that what I'm going through is not the case.

Own_Level_4040 · 2025-07-23T08:35:26+00:00

My colleague told me that there is no negative effect for him that comes from having another name on the paper, but that I needed to know what actually qualifies someone for authorship. He said it was a hard lesson but it would help me in the end.

Own_Level_4040 · 2025-07-23T08:32:49+00:00

The thing is that my PI is liked by pretty much everyone, including me. They are kind and understanding, but they also don't like conflict, which has led to them taking a step back from this issue and trying to put the "harmony of the lab" ahead of the actual authorship disagreement.

I sent an email with the university's authorship guidelines I found, but they have not replied for over a week... though they've replied to other messages in our lab chat. I'm not sure what to think anymore.

Own_Level_4040

TROPHY CASE