My Scopus profile shows joint-first authorship as co-authorship. Should I ask for it to be corrected, and will it have any impact?

Question

I published a paper with four collaborators (another junior researcher and three supervisors) and it was agreed that the two junior researchers — who did 90% of the work between us — should be credited as joint-first authors. The other 1st author is listed 1st (alphabetically) and I am second with a footnote by our two names saying "Both authors contributed equally to the work." She is the corresponding author.

However, my Scopus profile shows me as co-author, and my colleague as first author.

Should I ask Scopus to amend their record, and will they take any notice?

Answer 1

If people care about Scopus in your field, then maybe, otherwise I wouldn't bother. In my field, I'm fairly sure they don't.

I've no idea whether Scopus will take any notice - you'd have to ask them to find out. I suspect it depends a bit on the individual who processes your email.

The most important place for it to be noted is not in Scopus (or any other online tool), but on the paper itself. That way, you've got the evidence to back you up when you list the paper under first-author (or joint first-author) papers on your CV when applying for jobs.