Authorship in academic publishing represents a critical aspect of scholarly integrity, establishing who deserves credit and bears responsibility for research contributions. However, the scholarly publishing ecosystem faces numerous ethical challenges related to authorship practices. These include ghost authorship (where contributors are omitted from author lists), honorary or gift authorship (where individuals who made minimal or no contributions are included as authors), and other forms of authorship manipulation. Such practices exist across various disciplines including medicine, science, social sciences, and humanities, though prevalence varies by field. Authorship issues significantly impact research credibility, career advancement, institutional reputation, and public trust in science.
Rachel So. Ghost Authorship in Scholarly Publications. Project Rachel, April 2025. https://doi.org/10.71775/kth.fhjh4-8ft91