People not involved in research may consider this a silly question, as the answer is obvious: the people that did the work or at least wrote it up for publication. But what happens when lots of people did something, or there is a senior member of the department who historically gets their names on the articles because of who they are? Indeed a question more often asked within departments is, ‘what is order of authors?’. But I would argue that many of the historical practices leading to multiple authors may be inaccurate and even inappropriate. Being the ‘boss’ or part of the larger team, does not entitle you to being a named author.

The International Committee Medical Journal Editors and Blackwell-Synergy publishing, say that the authorship criteria are;

1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;
2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and
3) final approval of the version to be published.
and that to be an author you should meet conditions 1, 2 and 3.

Whilst all other contributors who do not qualify as authors should be listed and their particular contribution described in an acknowledgement section.

I think these guidelines are very clear and consequently I would like this information to be more widely disseminated. This would be of great benefit to junior researchers who may have been left off papers and also as armoury to use with those higher in their institutions who feel they have the right to be included, but have made little or no contribution to the work.

In short what is important is your contribution, not your rank!

Great news; Open Coffee has a home. We’ll be meeting downstairs in the Starbucks on Park St (picture to the right should take you to the Google map unless I’ve mangled the html {quite possible}).

Check out the Upcoming group for details; or turn up from around 9am.

At the moment there are four coffee’s planned:

• 6 May - Articulating your idea
• 20 May - Do you know your addressable market
• 3 June - Finance and money, how much do you need and how are you going to get it
• 17 June - Entrepreneurial team and advisor networks

Remember, these are only themes to get folks talking; if you have another question that’s vexing your start-up please come along and we’ll try and connect you up with someone who knows.

Stay tuned for more posts as things develop…

6 May 2008, at the moment this is looking good for the relaunch of Open Coffee in Bristol. I’m still waiting on confirmation for a venue (and some free coffee as part of the deal) but it’ll be central Bristol.

I’ve decided on a morning mainly because the focus is on networking around business development and entrepreneurship and I think that works better at the start of the day than at the end with a beer. Most of the Open Coffee clubs around the world meet in the morning and I’m sure there are plenty of people there smarter than me in organising network events. There will be evening social dinners to cement the networks but part of the focus is on discussing the business of doing business, and how to build innovative digital businesses in Bristol.

The rough schedule of 4 meetings over 2 months, followed by an evening dinner, shake, rinse, repeat; seems to be going down well with everyone I’ve spoken to. The current topic outline is:

• Explaining your idea; convince just one other evangelist and you’re well on your way (articulating your idea in 140 characters or less)=139
• Addressable market - who are the people that actually want your product / service, are they who you think they are? Perhaps talking over coffee with other entrepreneurs will open new market ideas, or give you research leads on building your business plan / invement proposal.
• Financial instruments - how are you raising / going to raise, the cash to build your product. Even with Google BigTable / Amazon EC3/S3 you still need some cash. Angel, VC, SFLG, FFF, Credit Cards, remortgage, what are your decisions, options and how are others finding cash?
• No “I” in Team; but there is a me - I love that bit of team building bumff “There’s no ‘I’ in Team”: there’s no f’in team either but you don’t tend to hear that one from the managment coaches so much - as a start up entrepreneur you probably are the team, even when you build an executive support squad, most investors say they’re investing in the founder. So how are you / should you build a support team around you and who’s in it?

At each morning I’m going to try and make sure that there are some professional in the crowd but the idea is to network and discuss in generalities to inform your decisions. Feel free to let the folks you know and work with that this is going on (it is Open Coffee after all).

More details as they settle down.

I am particularly happy as I have just found out that a journal article I have written has been accepted for publication in the peer review journal - International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

The title of the article is:
The Impact of Peri Operative Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on the Quality of Life of Maxillofacial Patients who undergo surgery in irradiated fields.

The authors and full reference will be posted on the research page in the not to distant future and although the article may not be a page turner like the Da Vini Code, it is easier and quicker to read than war and peace.

I would dearly like to post the abstract here, but having already posted about the topic of self plagiarism it would be foul hardy to do so.

Keep an eye out for the article if its a topic your interested in and feel free to ask questions or make comments.

What should you expect when you attend an academic conference?

I guess the first thing to say is that to date I have only been to one conference when I have not been presenting either a poster, or giving an oral address, and usually I am doing multiple things. So I have relatively high expectations as to how I like things and what I expect from the others that are attending.

Also conferences are often a very good money making opportunity for the people organising them, so never be afraid to ask them questions, as you will probably be making a fair investment of time and money to attend. So make sure you get out of it what you want/need.

So do I want to know before going to the conference?

If I have achieved a poster presentation I want to know the orientation (landscape or portrait) of the poster. Next when does my poster need to be put up, as some conferences want it shown for the entire duration and others only for a morning or other specified period. Then when I am expected to ‘man’ my poster, that is to stand beside it and answer questions. This is increasingly important as the concept of the ‘oral poster’ is slowly becoming fashionable.

An oral poster is one where you produce a poster then at a specified time have to give a short (usually 3 minute) over view of it’s content, and answer questions posed by the audience.

If I have been given a oral presentation I need to know the amount of time I have to talk for and how long the questioning period is. Next is when I am expected to talk.

Obviously it is also nice to be given an idea of possible hotels etc and maps and directions for getting there.

When I get there, what do I want to know?

Where do I register? This may seem like an obvious point, but I have been to many a conference where the sign posting is rubbish, and you can spend a considerable amount of time trying to track down someone that might know something about anything.

Hopefully after you have registered you will have a conference handbook which will give you all the other information you need, but don’t put money on it.  One of the first things to do is make sure your abstract is in it and that the organisers are expecting you.  Then the following questions can be asked:

Where do I hang my poster? - Not always obvious

Where is the room I am presenting in?

Is there any where I can check my presentation and maybe practice it? - this is of course something you should have done before you get there, but it always pays to make sure your presentation works on the conference computers.  Also take two copies on two different formats (CD and Flash memory are probably the best).  This may seem a little OTT, but it can pay to be paranoid about these things

Is there a dais? - I find it comforting to have something to hide behind, or at least put my notes on!

Can I have a microphone? - don’t be afraid of using a using a microphone, if it’s there then use it and talk normally.  It saves you having to shout or not being heard by people that are interested in your work.

When are the coffee/tea breaks? - you may think this is a strange question, but it is really easy to dehydrate at these things and it is rare to go to a conference when drinks, even water, are free available all the time.

and last but by no means least

Where is the bar?

This last question is not because I am an alcoholic, but because at many conferences (especially medical ones) a lot of networking is done over a beer at the end of the day.  Also if you have been presenting you will probably really appreciate the down time that the bar offers even if drinking a grapefruit juice and soda.
So hopefully there a few obvious questions to ask before you attend a conference and maybe even a few pointers as to how to make a conference you are organizing more attendant friendly.