We all, at one time or another, find ourselves in collaborations with
colleagues (or teams of colleagues) at other institutions. Sometimes
this can get tricky, especially with regards to sensitive issues such
as authorship or access to data. Having been through a number of these
often very fruitful experiences myself, I have the following advice to
offer: make certain to get as much agreed to in advance (and preferably
on paper or by email) before you commence the collaboration. There is
absolutely nothing wrong with putting the question of, for example, who
will be the corresponding author right out on the table in your initial
discussions with the potential collaborator. While this is true even
within Mason, it’s even more important for collaborations outside the
university. That’s because, if things do go awry (and you can be
certain that they occasionally do), it’s very difficult for the
leadership of Mason to intervene in the internal affairs of another
institution on your behalf.
Have I made collaborations sound somewhat onerous? I hope not. In fact,
it is these type of collaborative research programs which build careers
and at the same time build our Institute. They are incredibly important
and useful.
So go forward and be fruitful!
Jim
Discoverers and Discoveries 