Finishing undergrad research during first year of PhD

[GirtonOramsay]

I am currently working on 1.5 year research project that I started as a senior undergraduate, but my advisor doesn't expect us to have the final results and write-up for publication ready by the end of summer and says that I could just work with her in my first-year of PhD to finish up the publication.

Does this seem like a reasonable expectation for me to follow through with considering that I will be busy with classes and maybe TAing once I start grad school? One note is that I have not established whether I would be first author as the research ideas are credited to my advisor, but I have helped perform a large chunk of the work to get the results.

[FishNerd]

So I was in the middle of a project that I started in my undergraduate when I started my Master's and while I kept up with it for about a year (we were in data collection stage) it is still not finished... The reason it is not finished though is because my undergrad research advisor didn't really have the funding to keep the project going. So I think my situation is completely different from yours, from what it sounds like.

From everything I've ever heard it can be very difficult keeping up with a project when you are living elsewhere and starting a new project, but I really don't think its impossible, especially if all the data is collected or close to being collected by the time you leave. After that I think the most important thing is that you don't let the project/publication fall off your radar. When you are in a new environment it is easy to forget about lingering things outside of that new bubble you are in. Since you have been such a big part of this project I do think it is worth your time to try and remain a part of it as best as you can until it gets published. You should also clarify with your advisor your question of authorship. While first authorship is great for your CV, if you are going to a coauthor rather than first author that might make it easier for you, because once you start your new program the only thing you may be responsible for are maybe some further analyses and revisions of the manuscript once its put together (of course this is based off of my somewhat limited knowledge of publication... some people have their coauthors write sections of the paper instead of just having them revise). Honestly if you are first author and have to write the manuscript for publication that is going to be a lot harder to follow through on with your new responsibilities than what you would need to do as a coauthor.

What I think would benefit you most is to sit down with your current advisor and ask what expectations they want of you on this project going forward. Express your concerns about juggling your new responsibilities with the things you need to finish this project up. You all can then maybe create a plan of what you need to do for the project when you move away (this will likely be easier to do right before you move to your new program). I'm sure your advisor will understand all of this and help get together a plan of action to get this research project done and published!

[brainlass]

I'm in a very similar situation! I've been working on an original program of research for 1.5 years now as an undergraduate, and I'll be continuing data collection over the summer. Most likely, there will still be writing, revising, and possible follow-up studies extending into the first year of my PhD program. In my case, I am first author, and have no grad student or post-doc collaborators, so the responsibility of seeing this project through falls entirely on me (!!).

I actually was up-front about this when I interviewed with POIs. I explained that my current program of research is my own, and I would like the opportunity to continue working on it (in addition to starting new projects). The PI I ultimately decided to work with was enthusiastic about this possibility, and even suggested that she could apply for a joint grant with my current mentor to keep our collaboration. In this case, though, my current research was a good fit for the PI's interests, because I am keeping continuity between my undergraduate and graduate studies.

I suggest you 1. clarify authorship details, and 2. reach out to your future adviser to see if they are open to you bringing along some of your current work!

[juilletmercredi]

Eek.

I think it depends on how related to your doctoral research this project is, and your own personal motivations for finishing it. You will be very busy with classes and with getting settled into your new lab as well. How much work is left on it? Are you mostly finished with analyzing results and are proceeding to the write-up phase?

Having a publication in your first or second year of grad school would be an excellent thing, especially if it's in your field, so you should strongly consider it. Have a frank discussion with your current advisor about their expectations and timelines for the project and paper, including authorship and division of labor. Also, talk with your PI at your graduate university about the situation and see what they say.

[GirtonOramsay]

Kinda forgot to come back to this question lol. I definitely appreciate all of the advice from everyone's different perspectives! My situation is a bit more complicated with regards to the authorship situation considering that I was assigned to an abandoned PhD project that was 4 more years in the works such that the methods were pretty well established. I then came on to regenerate the programming procedures for the methods and gathered newer, updated datasets for the analysis. My advisor and I have working together to finish producing the results (developing a multi-regression model) and do expect to finish it in the summer before I leave. We were planning to begin the writing phase in summer and submit it by year's end. At the end of the day, I definitely want (and my advisor too) to this project go through to completion since my advisor has slowly developed the theory and contributed to the observations for nearly a decade now supporting this "ignored" effect.

In regards to graduate collaborations, this research is in a different field from where I'm going for any grad school, so that would definitely not be an option. In the meantime, I'll take everyone's advice to discuss the important details of authorship responsibilities and will create an "ideal" calendar for producing the final expected results. @brainlass I'm in the same boat too (no grad student/postdoc), so I realize that the ball is in my court now and will need to put in the work to make it a publication like yourself.