Getting 'Scooped'

Nicola is a PhD student investigating the genetic basis of breast cancer, with an interest for enhancing science communication, a passion for writing, and a desire to spread awareness and advice of academic life. Nicola is the creator of Fresh Science, a blog discussing the newest scientific news and making it accessible to those with a range of science (or non-science) backgrounds, as well as documenting some of her research journey. This post addresses the topic of being ‘scooped’ and having your research novelty threatened, something many academic have to deal with and adapt to.  Follow Nicola on Twitter at @fresh_science, and check out the Fresh Science blog at http://freshscience-nicola.blogspot.co.uk/.

An eternal fear of many researchers, particularly inexperienced PhD students, is being ‘scooped’. In case you’re unsure, this means another research group or lab publishing data that is on a very similar topic, or threatens the novelty of your work, before you. Imagine that? Those long hours and hard work, months, maybe even years, and then someone gets there first publishing and wowing everyone in your field. All your work is pointless now right? Wrong!

Getting scooped is tough, and demoralising, but it’s not the end of the world. Despite the importance and pressure of high-impact work, your academic career isn’t over and you are not a failure. In fact, it happens to a lot of people and can be dealt with. There are a few things you should remember or think about if this ever happens to you.

Firstly, getting scooped doesn’t mean it’s time to hang up your lab coat, and quit. I personally feel like the first thing to remember is that this clearly means that your work is a ‘hot topic’ and/or a prevalent issue that needs exploring or solving – i.e. your work will actually be useful and your ideas must have been good and generally on the right track!

Secondly, their paper may even help your research – they may have used a different method or even validated your findings and that is also pretty great. Just because they published first, it doesn’t mean it is better or more valid than your work, so try to build on it. Talk to your supervisor as well, the chances are this has also happened to them, and they may have some comforting advice or even an action plan if this happens.

This is where adaptability and creativity comes in, and is something that every researcher needs to be good at. Sometimes things go a different way to what you were expecting, and you must be able to mix things up a bit when it looks like the path is steering in a different direction. Maybe this published work has lacked an important detail or could be improved by using another technique? Use your critical thinking to move forward from their study and improve your own, and think about what you can learn from them. Alternatively, get in touch! This could be a great way to collaborate if that is an option you and your supervisor is willing to take.

Also, this doesn’t say anything about how good you are as a researcher at all, and doesn’t make you a bad researcher. You may have had logistical issues along the way holding you up, or may be a smaller group requiring more time to generate publishable work. And really, ‘you are a small cog in a very big machine’ - your individual paper may not be ground-breaking, but it is how this can eventually shape future research.

Finally, this will not affect your chances of employment after your PhD. If your research is strong, this will be reflected in your work and your CV. So don’t worry, this one blip will not lead to exile from your research community. These things happen, and don’t let the pressure get to you.

Of course, there are a few small preventative measures you can take, but unfortunately, competition is unavoidable. Try to stay on top of the literature as you possibly can, and make connections – it is very useful to know who is doing what. Also, although communication is great, try to keep your work disclosed until some of your work is complete and nearly ready for publishing, as this could avoid someone from nabbing ideas during a friendly chat at a conference, for example.

The take home message is to not be discouraged if this happens to you. Sometimes it can be unavoidable and it is not your fault. It does not discredit how great your ideas and work has been, and will not limit future opportunities.