New Ph.D. students in the empirical sciences should be recruited into ongoing scientific studies right from the start

Magazine article, 2016

All too often we come across Ph.D. students who after 2-3 years of effort still struggle with their first (co-)authorship. In many cases, this may be considered a waste of financial resources and human potential. We’d like to pitch the idea that newly started Ph.D. students should be invited to an ongoing study – thesis material or not – within the first weeks of their employment. The study should ideally be close to completion, and the task assigned to the Ph.D. student should comprise perhaps 2-3 days of work (plus manuscript revision). We have employed this approach many times, and the results so far have been encouraging: the Ph.D. students get a dose of positive energy from being part of a successful scientific enterprise and publication; they gets to feel that they and their work are taken seriously; and they obtain a quantum of experience of the scientific process. Furthermore, an early introduction to the notion of collaborative research efforts – a routine practice in academia and industry these days – is accomplished. This approach means little extra work for the project PI, but what strikes us is how long-lasting the positive effects for the Ph.D. students seem to be.