3

I have helped a scientific(math) author to find a reference and I have corrected several errors in his paper. Should he acknowledges me when he publishes his paper? Will that affect my academic career positively or negatively? And if he doesn't acknowledge me what can I do?

Improve this question
3
  • 3
    Under the circumstance that you described, I think the author should acknowledge you, but I also think you shouldn't care much whether he does or not. Acknowledgements are unlikely to help advance your career or status.
    – Andreas Blass
    Commented May 1, 2020 at 16:11
  • @Andreas Blass Thanks a lot for your reply!
    – E.s.
    Commented May 1, 2020 at 18:41
  • @Buffy Thank you for editing!
    – E.s.
    Commented May 1, 2020 at 18:42

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
18

should he acknowledges me when he publish his paper?

Acknowledgments are discretionary, so they needn't acknowledge you.

Will that affect my academic career positively or negatively?

Any impact will likely be minimal.

And if he doesn't acknowledge me what can I do?

You needn't do anything.

Improve this answer
16
  • 5
    @E.s. Helping-out might not be considered as contributing.
    – user2768
    Commented May 1, 2020 at 11:49
  • 6
    If you corrected mistakes in his math you should be a coauthour. If you corrected writing you don't require any acknowledgement. You did a favor.
    – user120011
    Commented May 1, 2020 at 12:54
  • 1
    @E.s. If you contributed intellectually by correcting the math in the paper in a way that is more than just typography you should be a coauthor. The other things you have described are favors.
    – user120011
    Commented May 1, 2020 at 14:32
  • 3
    @CJR I'd say authorship goes beyond more than just typography. An intellectual contribution is certainly required, but not sufficient, for me. It's difficult to provide a general quantification though.
    – user2768
    Commented May 1, 2020 at 16:21
  • 1
    The usual standard for co-authorship is to "intellectually contribute" to the material. That means being part of the hypothesis formulation, experimental evaluation, theoretical development, and/or statistical assessment. Finding a reference is not an "intellectual contribution".
    – Wolfgang Bangerth
    Commented May 1, 2020 at 16:55

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .