1. Creative contributions are different. The corresponding author has a higher status than the first author and has the greatest contribution in a paper.
2. The work content is different. The corresponding author is often the author who is the most authoritative in the field to which the paper belongs. The corresponding author generally refers to the person in charge of the entire project, responsible for the funding, design, writing of the article, etc. He is also the point of contact for articles and research materials. Above all, he takes responsibility for the reliability of the article.
The first author is generally the researcher who has made the greatest contribution to the work of this article. This author not only has the most and most important figures (i.e., physical contribution), but is also the author of the first draft of the article (i.e., intellectual contribution to the article).
3. The rankings are different. The first author refers to the person whose signature is listed first. Some articles are signed by two or more first authors, which are called concurrent first authors. In this case, it is generally necessary to mark the person's name.
Extended information:
The corresponding author generally refers to the person in charge of the entire project. In addition to being responsible for the funding, design, and writing of the article, he is also the contact person for the article and research materials. During the process of paper submission, revision, and acceptance for publication, you are responsible for all communications with the editorial office and accepting inquiries from readers.
The most important thing is that he is responsible for the reliability of the article and is the bearer of external responsibility for the article. The advantage of the corresponding author is that he can establish wider connections with the outside world. Some magazines will ask you to review manuscripts and write reviews, which will greatly improve your status in the scientific community.
The first author is generally the researcher who has made the greatest contribution to the specific work of the paper. This author not only has the most and most important figures (i.e., physical contribution), but is also the author of the first draft of the article (i.e., intellectual contribution to the paper).
In China, generally only the first author is recognized when evaluating professional titles and when graduate students publish papers. When it comes to some articles that reflect the boss's important views, some bosses will not let go of being both the first and corresponding author. Some magazines even state that only those with physical contributions cannot be the authors of articles, but acknowledgments are allowed.
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia - Corresponding author