What position does the first author enjoy if he/she is not the corresponding author? Should scientific journals insist on the corresponding author be the first author?
First author is always the first author - the originator of any research, corresponding author may be any senior or very knowledgable person or a team leader - handling manuscript in the right way and to the best
As far as I am aware there is no standard. Often the first author is the lead author, and the last may be the most senior of the remaining. In general I have seen order of importance as either First--Last or First--Second. Some universities, e.g. NYU, want their authors either first or last.
thanks to all who have replied. I see from the answers that there is no set standard for authorship rankings. In India the council which regulates medical education gives credit to first and second authors only. No mention is made of corresponding author.
At present, in our academic scientific field the first and the last author and the corresponding author (who may be the first, the second or the last author) are considered the most important positions in a paper. Now several journals request to specify the contribution of each author in the acknowledgement section of the paper, and I think that is a little bit rewarding for the remaining coauthors.
Thanks Anna Costagliola. It is interesting to note that the last author too carries equal importance as the first. I have noticed that many a times the last author is generally the Head/Chair of the department where the first author works & has contributed the least to the paper.