‘Ghost,’ ‘guest,’ or ‘gift’ authorship. Case number: 05-04. Ghost authorship, the failure to name, as an author, an individual who has made substantial contributions to an article, may result in lack of accountability. If physicians base their decisions on dubious research data, this can have negative consequences for patients. Incorrect authorship goes beyond raising disputes amongst research teams to matters of research integrity and good research conduct. Ghost authorship was identified in 66% of evaluable studies; 44.5% of studies acknowledged assistance of a medical writer, and 33% of publications met our definition of honorary authorship. Ghost authorship was determined to be present in any scenario where investigators or statisticians listed in the protocol were not included as authors and not acknowledged in the report of the trial. Methods and Findings A very particular problem is created by the decision-making process associated with authorship, as it is often the head of a department or research project who makes the decision. Professional writers who participated only in Ghost authorship is intentionally not identifying as an author someone who made substantial contributions to the research or writing of a manuscript that merited authorship. | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate BACKGROUND: Ghost authorship, the failure to name, as an author, an individual who has made substantial contributions to an article, may result in lack of accountability. Sanitising a misleading statement . In particular, “guest, gift, and ghost” authorships are clearly unacceptable and inconsistent with the definition of what constitutes authorship. A "film credit" concept of authority is one solution to the problems posed by ghost authorship. However given the variances and the importance of accuracy not only for the publication but in recognising contributions, it is a matter that should be openly addressed early on in the research. Ghost authorship was determined to be present in any scenario where investigators or statisticians listed in the protocol were not included as authors and not acknowledged in the report of the trial. Other approaches have been taken by the United Kingdom and Denmark. The prevalence and nature of ghost authorship in industry-initiated randomised trials is not known. NOTE: some agencies such as the NIH’s Office of Research Integrity, will not consider disputes that are solely about authorship. Authorship is the most visible form of academic recognition and credit. Unattributed contributions to data analyses may also constitute ghost authorship.3 Yes. Physicians and other scientists are paid to attach their names to the manuscripts as though they had authored them. Ghost authorship also compromises academic integrity. OUP considers all forms of ghost, guest, and gift authorship to be unethical and works closely with editors and publishing partners to take a firm stance against such practices. Ghost authorship is the failure to identify as an author, someone who made substantial contributions to the research or writing of a manuscript that merited authorship, or an unnamed individual who participated in writing the manuscript. Honorary Authorship 84. Ghost Authorship • Ghost authorship occurs when an individual makes a substantial contribution to the research or the writing of the report, but is not listed as an author. Ghost authorship 86. It includes employing authors for hire with the understanding that they will not be credited. Ghost authorship occurs when a written work fails to identify individuals who made significant contributions to the research and writing of that work. Request PDF | On Jun 1, 2015, Cindy W Hamilton and others published Ghost Authorship. Ghost authorship is the omission of the name of someone who contributed to a scientific paper from that paper's list of authors. • Fraudulent authorship: • Yoshitaka Fujii (anesthesiology) was found to have fabricated data in at least 172 scientific papers. Medical ghostwriters are employed by pharmaceutical companies and medical-device manufacturers to produce apparently independent manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and other communications. Although in recent times this unethical practice is typically associated with the pharmaceutical and biomedical device industry, the term is also applicable in a number of other contexts. Not acknowledging a writer’s contribution is considered dishonest. In this study, approximately 1 in 4 articles demonstrated misapplication of authorship criteria and inappropriate assignment of authorship. These include dilution of authorship responsibility, ‘guest’, ‘pressured’ and ‘ghost’ authorship, and obfuscation of authorship … Coercion Authorship • Coercion authorship, where intimidation is used to gain authorship… People generally lie about authorship in two ways: by putting down names of people who took little or no part in the research (gift authorship, see below) by leaving out names of people who did take part (ghost authorship,see below). If physicians base their decisions on dubious research data, this can have negative consequences for patients. Authorship is not tied to position or profession and will not be offered to those who do not meet the requirements; gift, ghost or honorary authorship is unacceptable. Ghost authors are people who were involved in some way in the research study, or writing the paper, but who have been left off the final author list. A “film credit” concept of authorship is one solution to the problems posed by ghost authorship. Researchers should also be aware of the authorship guidelines of the publisher to which they are submitting. Ghost Authorship This usually refers to professional writers (often paid by commercial sponsors) whose role is not acknowledged. In particular, for clinical research, case histories and previous research has suggested that “ghost authorship” is commonplace. Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva, Judit Dobránszki, Multiple Authorship in Scientific Manuscripts: Ethical Challenges, Ghost and Guest/Gift Authorship, and the Cultural/Disciplinary Perspective, Science and Engineering Ethics, 10.1007/s11948-015-9716-3, 22, 5, (1457-1472), (2015). Other approaches have been taken by the United Kingdom and Denmark. Ghost authorship is when somebody who has made a substantial contribution to a research project or publication, and who therefore meets accepted authorship criteria for the discipline, is omitted from an author list or is denied the opportunity to contribute to a publication. Ghost author: Someone omitted from authorship who is qualified • Duplicate publication: publishing the “same” work in multiple journals. This increase, in combination with the pressure to publish within academia, has precipitated various unethical authorship practices within biomedical research. Misappropriation of authorship (ie, awarding honorary authorship and concealing ghost authorship) is incompatible with the principles, duties, and ethical responsibilities involved in scientific publication. Preventing a problem is often better than solving it and we recommend the following three principles. Ghost authorship also compromises academic integrity. 85. In 2008, self-reports of ghost authorship was 7.9%, down from 11.5% in 1996. The prevalence of honorary authorship was 25.0% in original research reports, 15.0% in reviews, and 11.2% in editorials, whereas the prevalence of ghost authorship was 11.9% in research articles, 6.0% in reviews, and 5.3% in editorials. Prevalence of honorary authorship in research articles was higher in 2008 than in 1996, but lower for review articles and editorials. However, because credit for publication is also important in disputes and allegations of research misconduct, it is worth considering why authorship credit is more than a matter of personal gratification. In comparison, rates of honorary authorship remained statistically similar over time (17.6% in 2008 versus 19.3% in 1996). Ghost Authorship Unlike gust author, a ghost author is a professional writer or a younger researcher who has made a substantial contribution to the research or writing of a manuscript, providing substantial inputs (research and writing) to senior researchers but is not named as an author and do not share authorship. Indeed, the ICMJE frowns upon excluding these “ghost authors” because “all persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify should be listed.” Conversely, if only a group is named, accountability to the public becomes less meaningful. Ghost authorship is the failure to identify as an author someone who made substantial contributions to the research or writing of a manuscript that merited authorship, or an unnamed individual who participated in writing the manuscript. Ghost authors are professional writers who remain unnamed or younger researchers who provide substantial inputs (research and writing) to senior researchers but do not share authorship. Ghost Authorship Unlike gust author, a ghost author is a professional writer or a younger researcher who has made a substantial contribution to the research or writing of a manuscript, providing substantial inputs (research and writing) to senior researchers but is not named as an author and do not share authorship. "Ghost authorship" is the term used when persons who definitely should be included among the authors are omitted – willingly or unwillingly. The prevalence and nature of ghost authorship in industry-initiated randomised trials is not known. Ghost authorship. We encourage collaboration and co-authorship with colleagues in the locations where the research is conducted. 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