Publishing Without the Boss’ Blessing?

Dear Dora,

I finished my PhD with a single publication, which was based on one of my 4 projects. The other projects were not completely finished, but I still generated useful data. My boss does not want to publish them. Can I go at it alone?

- Md Sha

Dear Md Sha,

Unfortunately, you cannot publish your papers without your supervisor’s permission, because they funded your research and hence, own the data. What you could do, (this is risky and time-consuming) is to write up the manuscript for at least one of your projects in a format that is ready to be submitted. Although your boss is not interested, he/she might see value in the work once you write it up, especially if it is valuable research. You can try to convince him/her that they will not lose anything by submitting it. Hopefully, you can win them over!

If you cannot publish more, you can still include this work when you give a job talk, and even in your C.V. under “Responsibilities” or “Accomplishments.” If your boss agrees to give these papers the green light you can include them in the “Manuscripts in progress” section.

Dora Farkas, Ph.D. is the author “The Smart Way to Your Ph.D.:200 Secrets from 100 Graduates,” and the founder of PhDNet, an online community for graduate students and PhDs. You will find links to her book, monthly newsletters, and discussion board on her site. Send your questions to DearDora@benchfly.com and keep an eye out for them in an upcoming issue!