So I completed my PhD in Jan this year and have graduated. Since then I have left academia/research and ended up in a regular job I love despite it being something that is unrelated to my PhD. My supervisor and I have had a not great relationship, mostly down to my decision to leave research, which she views as a "waste of a PhD" according to people I know still working in her lab.
I was happy to let it all be in the past but three months ago she messaged (with a throwaway "hope you are well" but no attempt to ask how I was doing) and said I should publish some of my work to ensure I make the most of the time I spent getting my doctorate.
I initially said okay and have been working on it and pulling it together, but lately I have things going on in my personal life which needs more time and to be honest it's all taking its toll. Ive been looking at the publication as something that is sapping a lot of my time and energy and, despite my supervisors insistence, it's not critical to my future career success.
I tried to explain I have a lot on and this paper was taking a lower priority and they responded that I wrote my thesis when I started a new job so getting this done shouldn't be too taxing... The idea of commiting anymore time on my doctoral work is filling me with dread. I just want it to be over and my husband has noticed whenever I think about it because it's just like I receed.
So Im wondering can my supervisor force me to publish? Ive checked and apparently the IP belongs to the university, but my only other concern is if my supervisor decided to publish the work in my name (or without me as an author), could she actually do that? That concerns me as I know the work has flaws in it (e.g. Low n numbers and unblinded assessments) so if it were to get published it would no doubt be in a low impact journal and I honestly wouldn't put it past her to assign the low quality of the paper (or the fact she couldn't answer questions on the research, because she hasn't been in a lab in 6 years) to me not assisting. The whole situation just has me a nervous wreck.
TLDR: after finishing a PhD can a former boss force you to publish? Or can they publish your work without your input or consent?