It wasn’t long ago when the research for academic papers altered, forcing authors to find another person for collaborative research. The situation was vastly influenced by globalization and the expectations the authors had to meet, leading them to share their work with other writers. That’s how a corresponding author appeared… What are the responsibilities and importance of a corresponding author?
The duties of a corresponding author
Due to the growing number of expectations towards authors of academic papers, it’s no wonder they really needed extra help with their work. The name of the corresponding author is quite suggestive, giving us the gist of what such a person may be responsible for – the basic role is to contact the publisher and readers. That’s why there are two phases when the corresponding author plays a vital role, and we may call them the pre-publication, and post-publication phases.
In the pre-publication phase, the corresponding author needs to contact the publisher, and in the other, post-publication phase its role is to keep control over readers’ questions and to answer them. It is possible to cooperate with two different people for both sets of duties, as they differ a lot.
A pre-publication phase role
We may enumerate five basic areas of duties in the pre-publication phase which the corresponding author needs to fulfill.
The initial phase when the job of a corresponding author starts may be called submission, and it includes all the necessary activities that need to be performed before the submission of the paper. It’s required to submit the manuscript, auxiliary files, and potential revisions, and then share the referee report, the journal editor’s decisions, and galley proofs with the co-authors.
It’s also necessary to keep in touch with the publisher and manage the article processing charge payment if necessary. Contact with the journal editorial team is also a very important job, for example when the need for extra services are required. When any files are missing, ambiguities appear, or there is a need for better-quality figures, the corresponding author comes into action.
It may also be necessary to obtain permissions when copyrighted material is used, as well as disclosures and statements from co-authors. Finally, the corresponding author puts a signature under the license agreement on behalf of all the co-authors.
Post-publication phase
The list of tasks in the post-publication phase is significantly shorter than before the publication, and they mainly focus on three activities. The phase is mainly oriented on the correspondence between the readers and the author. If any scientific questions appear, the corresponding author forwards them to the co-authors and then sends the reply.
A corresponding author also manages the data sharing and represents the co-authors in any copyright-related questions.
Choose a corresponding author wisely
The choice of the corresponding author is not a trivial job, and it really needs to be a well-thought decision. First of all, that’s because the position of a corresponding author gives them prestige, which may be appreciated by committees by evaluating grants and promotion applications.
Secondly, by hiring a corresponding author you decide to cooperate with the person for longer, with the possibility of changing the person after the publication, which means the first phase with the most number of duties must be given to one person only.
There is also a practical advantage of having a corresponding author, which is connected with the possibility of exempting the cost of hiring one from the payment of the expenses of Open Access publication.
