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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
'''Academic authorship''' of [[academic journal|journal]] [[manuscript|articles]], books, and other original works is a means by which [[academia|academics]] communicate the results of their [[list of academic disciplines|scholarly work]], establish [[scientific priority|priority]] for their discoveries, and build their reputation among their peers.

Authorship is a primary basis that employers use to evaluate academic personnel for employment, promotion, and [[tenure]]. In [[academic publishing]], authorship of a work is claimed by those making intellectual contributions to the completion of the [[research]] described in the work. In simple cases, a solitary scholar carries out a research project and writes the subsequent article or book. In many [[list of academic disciplines|disciplines]], however, [[collaboration]] is the norm and issues of authorship can be controversial. In these contexts, authorship can encompass activities other than writing the article; a researcher who comes up with an experimental design and analyzes the data may be considered an author, even if she or he had little role in composing the text describing the results. According to some standards, even writing the entire article would not constitute authorship unless the writer was also involved in at least one other phase of the project.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Dickson |year= 1978 | journal=Wildl. Soc. Bull. |volume= 6 | first1=J. G.| issue=4 |pages= 260–261 | last2=Conner | jstor=3781489 | first2=R. N. | last3=Adair | first3=K. T. | title=Guidelines for Authorship of Scientific Articles }}</ref>

==Definition==
Guidelines for assigning authorship vary between [[institution]]s and disciplines. They may be formally defined or simply cultural norms. Incorrect assignment of authorship  occasionally leads to charges of [[academic dishonesty|academic misconduct]] and sanctions for the violator. A 2002<!--published in 2005--> survey of a large sample of researchers who had received funding from the U.S. [[National Institutes of Health]] revealed that 10% of respondents claimed to have inappropriately assigned authorship credit within the last three years.<ref name=Martinson2005>{{Cite journal
| last1 = Martinson | first1 = Brian C.
| year = 2005
| title = Scientists behaving badly
| journal = Nature
| volume = 435
| pages = 737–8
| doi = 10.1038/435737a
| pmid = 15944677
| last2 = Anderson
| first2 = MS
| last3 = De Vries
| first3 = R
| issue = 7043
| bibcode = 2005Natur.435..737M| s2cid = 4341622
}}</ref> This was the first large scale survey concerning such issues. In other fields only limited or no empirical data is available.

===Authorship in the natural sciences===
The natural sciences have no universal standard for authorship, but some major multi-disciplinary [[academic journal|journals]] and institutions have established guidelines for work that they publish. The journal ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]]'' (''PNAS'') has an editorial policy that specifies "authorship should be limited to those who have contributed substantially to the work" and furthermore, "authors are strongly encouraged to indicate their specific contributions" as a [[footnote]]. The [[American Chemical Society]] further specifies that authors are those who also "share responsibility and accountability for the results"<ref>{{cite web |title=Ethical Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Researchnals, books, and references published by the American Chemical Society |url=https://pubs.acs.org/userimages/ContentEditor/1218054468605/ethics.pdf |website=pubs.acs.org |publisher=[[American Chemical Society]] |access-date=26 September 2020 |language=en |date=2015}}</ref> and the U.S. [[United States National Academies|National Academies]] specify "an author who is willing to take credit for a paper must also bear responsibility for its contents. Thus, unless a footnote or the text of the paper explicitly assigns responsibility for different parts of the paper to different authors, the authors whose names appear on a paper must share responsibility for all of it."<ref name="National"/>

===Authorship in mathematics===
In mathematics, the authors are usually listed in alphabetical order (the so-called Hardy-Littlewood Rule).<ref name=AMS>{{cite report
 | year = 2015
 | title       = The Culture of Research and Scholarship in Mathematics: Joint Research and Its Publication 
 | url  =https://www.ams.org/profession/leaders/culture/JointResearchandItsPublicationfinal.pdf&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwiU8fWo89n8AhU2ElkFHTUsBnIQFnoECAcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2AcHamUgL9coJz4DfP9aJZ
 | publisher   = American Mathematical Society
 | format      = pdf
}}</ref>

===Authorship in medicine===
The medical field defines authorship very narrowly. According to the [[Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals]], designation as an author must satisfy four conditions. The author must have:
# Contributed substantially to the conception and design of the study, the acquisition of data, or the analysis and interpretation
# Drafted or provided critical revision of the article
# Provided final approval of the version to publish
# Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved

Acquisition of funding, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship. Biomedical authorship is prone to various misconducts and disputes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Astaneh |first1=Behrooz |last2=Schwartz |first2=Lisa |last3=Guyatt |first3=Gordon |title=Biomedical Authorship: Common Misconducts and Possible Scenarios for Disputes |journal=Journal of Academic Ethics |date=15 August 2021 |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=455–464 |doi=10.1007/s10805-021-09435-z |s2cid=238683430 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10805-021-09435-z}}</ref> Many authors – especially those in the middle of the byline – do not fulfill these authorship criteria.<ref name="advances.sciencemag.org">{{cite journal|last1=Sauermann|first1=Henry|last2=Haeussler|first2=Carolin|title=Authorship and contribution disclosures|journal=Science Advances|volume=3|issue=11|doi=10.1126/sciadv.1700404|pmid=29152564|pmc=5687853|year=2017|page=e1700404|bibcode=2017SciA....3E0404S}}</ref> Some medical journals have abandoned the strict notion of author, with the flexible notion of ''contributor''.<ref name=Rennie1997>{{Cite journal
| last1 = Rennie | first1 = D.
| last2 = Yank | first2 = V.
| last3 = Emanuel | first3 = L.
| year = 1997
| title = When authorship fails. A proposal to make contributors accountable
| journal = JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
| volume = 278
| issue = 7
| pages = 579–85
| doi = 10.1001/jama.1997.03550070071041
| pmid = 9268280
}}</ref>

===Authorship in the social sciences===
The [[American Psychological Association]] (APA) has similar guidelines as medicine for authorship. The APA acknowledge that authorship is not limited to the writing of manuscripts, but must include those who have made substantial contributions to a study such as "formulating the problem or hypothesis, structuring the experimental design, organizing and conducting the statistical analysis, interpreting the results, or writing a major portion of the paper".<ref>American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. p. 350</ref> While the APA guidelines list many other forms of contributions to a study that do not constitute authorship, it does state that combinations of these and other tasks may justify authorship. Like medicine, the APA considers institutional position, such as Department Chair, insufficient for attributing authorship.

===Authorship in the humanities===
Neither the Modern Languages Association<ref>Gibaldi, J. (1998). ''MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing'' (2nd ed.). New York: Modern Language Association of America.</ref> nor the Chicago Manual of Style<ref>{{cite book|title =The Chicago Manual of Style|edition = 15th|date =2006|location = Chicago|publisher = [[University of Chicago Press]]|isbn =  978-0226104041|title-link = The Chicago Manual of Style}}</ref> define requirements for authorship (because usually humanities works are single-authored and the author is responsible for the entire work).

==Growing number of authors per paper==
From the late 17th century to the 1920s, sole authorship was the norm, and the one-paper-one-author model worked well for distributing credit.<ref name="Greene2007"/> Today, shared authorship is common in most academic disciplines,<ref name="Tilak2015"/><ref name="Ardeola2000"/> with the exception of the humanities, where sole authorship is still the predominant model. Between about 1980-2010 the average number of authors in medical papers increased, and perhaps tripled.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tsao|first1=CI|last2=Roberts|first2=LW|title=Authorship in scholarly manuscripts: practical considerations for resident and early career physicians.|journal=Academic Psychiatry |volume=33|issue=1|pages=76–9|pmid=19349451|doi=10.1176/appi.ap.33.1.76|year=2009|s2cid=11245852}}</ref> One survey found that in mathematics journals over the first decade of the 2000's, "the number of papers with 2, 3 and 4+ authors  increased by approximately 50%, 100% and 200%, respectively, while single author papers decreased slightly."<ref name="AMS" />

In particular types of research, including particle physics, genome sequencing and clinical trials, a paper's author list can run into the hundreds. In 1998, the [[Collider Detector at Fermilab]] (CDF) adopted a (at that time) highly unorthodox policy for assigning authorship. CDF maintains a ''standard author list''. All scientists and engineers working at CDF are added to the standard author list after one year of full-time work; names stay on the list until one year after the worker leaves CDF. Every publication coming out of CDF uses the entire standard author list, in alphabetical order. Other big collaborations, including most particle physics experiments, followed this model.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.sciencewatch.com/newsletter/2012/201207/multiauthor_papers/|title=Multiauthor Papers: Onward and Upward|author=Christopher King|date=July 2012|access-date=6 December 2017|work = ScienceWatch Newsletter}}</ref>

In large, multi-center clinical trials authorship is often used as a reward for recruiting patients.<ref name="Regalado1995"/> A paper published in the [[The New England Journal of Medicine|New England Journal of Medicine]] in 1993 reported on a clinical trial conducted in 1,081 hospitals in 15 different countries, involving a total of 41,021 patients. There were 972 authors listed in an appendix and authorship was assigned to a group.<ref name="Investigators1993"/> In 2015, an article in high-energy physics was published describing the measurement of the mass of the [[Higgs boson]] based on collisions in the [[Large Hadron Collider]]; the article boasted 5,154 authors, the printed author list needed 24 pages.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1038/nature.2015.17567 |doi-access=free | title=Physics paper sets record with more than 5,000 authors| year=2015| last1=Castelvecchi| first1=Davide| s2cid=187657002| journal=Nature}}</ref>

Large authors lists have attracted some criticism. They strain guidelines that insist that each author's role be described and that each author is responsible for the validity of the whole work. Such a system treats authorship more as ''credit'' for scientific service at the facility in general rather that as an identification of specific contributions.<ref>Biagioli, M. Rights or rewards? Changing frameworks of scientific authorship. In ''Scientific Authorship'', Biagioli, M. and Galison, P. eds. Routledge, New York, 2003, pp. 253–280.</ref> One commentator wrote, "In more than 25 years working as a scientific editor ... I have not been aware of any valid argument for more than three authors per paper, although I recognize that this may not be true for every field."<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/37855 | pmid = 9288957 | year = 1997 | last1 = Van Loon | first1 = A. J. | title = Pseudo-authorship | journal = Nature | volume = 389 | issue = 6646 | pages = 11 |bibcode = 1997Natur.389...11V | doi-access = free }}</ref> The rise of shared authorship has been attributed to [[Big Science]]—scientific experiments that require collaboration and specialization of many individuals.<ref>{{cite book|last = Price|first = Derek John de Solla|date = 1986|chapter = Collaboration in an Invisible College|title = Little science, big science...and beyond|pages = [https://archive.org/details/littlesciencebig00pric/page/119 119–134]|location = New York|publisher = Columbia University Press|chapter-url = http://www.andreasaltelli.eu/file/repository/Little_science_big_science_and_beyond.pdf|isbn = 978-0-231-04956-6|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/littlesciencebig00pric/page/119}}</ref>

Alternatively, the increase in multi-authorship is according to a [[Game theory|game-theoretic]] analysis a consequence of the way scientists are evaluated.<ref name=hindexrankinggame>{{cite journal |last1=Tagiew |first1=Rustam |last2=Ignatov |first2=Dmitry I. |title=Behavior Mining in h-index Ranking Game |journal=Mpra Paper |date=17 September 2017 |url=https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/82795.html |publisher=University Library of Munich, Germany |language=en}}</ref> Scientists are judged by the number of papers they publish, and by the impact of those papers. Both measures are integrated into the most popular single value measure <math>h</math>[[h-index|-index]]. The <math>h</math>-index correlates with winning the [[Nobel Prize]], being accepted for research fellowships and holding positions at top universities.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bornmann |first1=Lutz |last2=Daniel |first2=Hans-Dieter |title=What do we know about the h-index? |journal=Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology |date=July 2007 |volume=58 |issue=9 |pages=1381–1385 |doi=10.1002/asi.20609|s2cid=31323195 }}</ref> When each author claims each paper and each citation as his/her own, papers and citations are multiplied by the number of authors. Since it is common and rational to cite own papers more than others, a high number of coauthors increases not only the number of own papers, but also their impact.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Noorden |first1=Richard Van |last2=Chawla |first2=Dalmeet Singh |title=Hundreds of extreme self-citing scientists revealed in new database |journal=Nature |date=19 August 2019 |volume=572 |issue=7771 |pages=578–579 |language=en |doi=10.1038/d41586-019-02479-7|pmid=31455906 |bibcode=2019Natur.572..578V |s2cid=201704279 |doi-access=free }}</ref> As result, game rules set by <math>h</math>-index being a decision criterion for success create a [[zero-sum]] '''<math>h</math>-index ranking game''', where the rational strategy includes maximizing the number of coauthors up to the majority of the researchers in a field.<ref name=hindexrankinggame/> Data of 189 thousand publications showed that the coauthors' number is strongly correlated with <math>h</math>-index.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Batista |first1=Pablo D. |last2=Campiteli |first2=Mônica G. |last3=Kinouchi |first3=Osame |s2cid=34858423 |title=Is it possible to compare researchers with different scientific interests? |journal=Scientometrics |date=July 2006 |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=179–189 |doi=10.1007/s11192-006-0090-4|arxiv=physics/0509048 }}</ref> Hence, the system rewards heavily multi-authored papers. This problem is openly acknowledged, and it could easily be "corrected" by dividing each paper and its citations by the number of authors,<ref>{{cite journal | author = Põder E | year = 2010 | title = Let's correct that small mistake | journal = J. Am. Soc. Inform. Sci. Tech | volume = 61 | issue = 12| pages = 2593–2594 | doi = 10.1002/asi.21438 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lozano | first1 = G. A. | year = 2013 | title = The elephant in the room: multi-authorship and the assessment of individual researchers | journal = Current Science | volume = 105 | issue = 4| pages = 443–445 | arxiv = 1307.1330 }}</ref> though this practice has not been widely adopted.

Finally, the rise in shared authorship may also reflect increased acknowledgment of the contributions of lower level workers, including graduate students and technicians, as well as honorary authorship, while allowing for such collaborations to make an independent statement about the quality and integrity of a scientific work.

==Order of authors in a list==
Rules for the order of multiple authors in a list have historically varied significantly between fields of research.<ref name="On Academic Authorship (RPH 2.8)">{{cite web |url=https://doresearch.stanford.edu/policies/research-policy-handbook/conduct-research/academic-authorship |title=On Academic Authorship (RPH 2.8) |year=1985 |author =Kennedy, Donald |work=Stanford University Research Policy Handbook Document 2.8. |access-date=2010-04-01}}</ref> Some fields list authors in order of their degree of involvement in the work, with the most active contributors listed first;<ref name="advances.sciencemag.org"/> other fields, such as mathematics or engineering, sometimes list them alphabetically.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/40958 | pmid = 9237742 | year = 1997 | last1 = Stubbs | first1 = C. | title = The serious business of listing authors. | journal = Nature | volume = 388 | issue = 6640 | page = 320 |bibcode = 1997Natur.388Q.320. | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="EPAC96"/><ref name="ICALEPCS99"/> Historically, biologists tended to place a [[principal investigator]] (supervisor or lab head) last in an author list whereas organic chemists might have put him or her first.<ref name="Pearson, H 2006"/> Research articles in high energy physics, where the author lists can number in the tens to hundreds, often list authors alphabetically. In the academic fields of economics, business, finance or [[particle physics]], it is also usual to sort the authors alphabetically.<ref name="author listing">{{cite journal | last1 = Waltman | first1 = L | year = 2012 | title = An empirical analysis of the use of alphabetical authorship in scientific publishing | journal = Journal of Informetrics | volume = 4 | issue = 6| pages = 700–711 | doi = 10.1016/j.joi.2012.07.008 | arxiv = 1206.4863 | s2cid = 12087596 }}</ref>

Although listing authors in order of the involvement in the project seems straightforward, it often leads to conflict. A study in the ''[[Canadian Medical Association Journal]]'' found that more than two-thirds of 919 corresponding authors disagreed with their coauthors regarding contributions of each author.<ref name="Reliability of disclosure forms of authors' contributions"/>

==Responsibilities of authors==
Authors' reputations can be damaged if their names appear on a paper that they do not completely understand or with which they were not intimately involved.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} Numerous guidelines and customs specify that all co-authors must be able to understand and support a paper's major points.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}

In a notable case, American stem-cell researcher [[Gerald Schatten]] had his name listed on a paper co-authored with [[Hwang Woo-suk]]. The paper was later exposed as fraudulent and, though Schatten was not accused of participating in the fraud, a panel at his university found that "his failure to more closely oversee research with his name on it does make him guilty of 'research misbehavior.'"<ref>Holden, Constance. (2006.) Schatten: Pitt Panel Finds "Misbehavior" but Not Misconduct. ''Science'', '''311''':928.</ref>

All authors, including co-authors, are usually expected to have made reasonable attempts to check findings submitted for publication. In some cases, co-authors of faked research have been accused of inappropriate behavior or research misconduct for failing to verify reports authored by others or by a commercial sponsor. Examples include the case of Professor Geoffrey Chamberlain named as guest author of papers fabricated by Malcolm Pearce,<ref name="Lessons from the Pearce affair: handling scientific fraud"/> (Chamberlain was exonerated from collusion in Pearce's deception)<ref name="Independent Committee of Inquiry into the publication of articles in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology">{{cite journal |title=Independent Committee of Inquiry into the publication of articles in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (1994-1995) |url=http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cats/7/4972.htm |access-date=2011-08-26}}</ref> and the co-authors of [[Jan Hendrik Schön]] at [[Bell Labs|Bell Laboratories]]. More recent cases include [[Charles Nemeroff]],<ref name="Journal editor quits in conflict scandal – The Scientist – Magazine of the Life Sciences"/> former editor-in-chief of ''[[Neuropsychopharmacology]]'', and the so-called Sheffield Actonel affair.<ref name="Actonel_Case_Media_Reports"/>

Additionally, authors are expected to keep all study data for later examination even after publication. Both scientific and academic censure can result from a failure to keep primary data; the case of [[Ranjit Chandra]] of [[Memorial University of Newfoundland]] provides an example of this.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Memorial University to re-examine Chandra case|url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/memorial-university-to-re-examine-chandra-case-1.575308|website = cbc.ca|access-date = 2015-11-03}}</ref> Many scientific journals also require that authors provide information to allow readers to determine whether the authors may have commercial or non-commercial [[conflict of interest|conflicts of interest]]. Outlined in the author disclosure statement for the ''[[American Journal of Human Biology]]'',<ref name="American Journal of Human Biology – Wiley InterScience"/> this is a policy more common in scientific fields where funding often comes from corporate sources. Authors are also commonly required to provide information about [[research ethics|ethical]] aspects of research, particularly where research involves human or animal participants or use of biological material. Provision of incorrect information to journals may be regarded as misconduct. Financial pressures on universities have encouraged this type of misconduct. The majority of recent cases of alleged misconduct involving undisclosed conflicts of interest or failure of the authors to have seen scientific data involve collaborative research between scientists and biotechnology companies.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2133061/ |title=Did a British university sell out to P&G? – By Jennifer Washburn – Slate Magazine |newspaper=Slate Magazine |access-date=2010-04-01| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100323070938/http://www.slate.com/id/2133061/| archive-date= 23 March 2010 | url-status= live|date=2005-12-22 |last1=Washburn |first1=Jennifer }}</ref>

==Unconventional types of authorship==
===Honorary authorship===
''Honorary authorship'' is sometimes granted to those who played no significant role in the work, for a variety of reasons. Until recently, it was standard to list the head of a German department or institution as an author on a paper regardless of input.<ref name="Pearson, H 2006"/> The United States [[National Academy of Sciences]], however, warns that such practices "dilute the credit due the people who actually did the work, inflate the credentials of those so 'honored,' and make the proper attribution of credit more difficult."<ref name=National/> The extent to which honorary authorship still occurs is not empirically known. However, it is plausible to expect that it is still widespread, because senior scientists leading large research groups can receive much of their reputation from a long publication list and thus have little motivation to give up honorary authorships.

A possible measure against honorary authorships has been implemented by some scientific journals, in particular by the ''Nature'' journals. They demand<ref name="NaturePolicies"/> that each new manuscript must include a statement of responsibility that specifies the contribution of every author. The level of detail varies between the disciplines. Senior persons may still make some vague claim to have "supervised the project", for example, even if they were only in the formal position of a supervisor without having delivered concrete contributions. (The truth content of such statements is usually not checked by independent persons.) However, the need to describe contributions can at least be expected to somewhat reduce honorary authorships. In addition, it may help to identify the perpetrator in a case of scientific fraud.

=== Gift, guest and rolling authorship ===
More specific types of honorary authorship are gift, guest and rolling authorship. '''Gift''' authorship consists of authorship obtained by the offer of another author (honorary or not) with objectives that are beyond the research article itself or are ulterior, as promotion or favor.<ref name="honorary authorship">{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1038/s41393-017-0057-8|title = Gift, honorary or guest authorship|year = 2018|last1 = Harvey|first1 = LA|s2cid = 46803021|journal = Spinal Cord|volume = 56|issue = 2|page = 91|pmid = 29422533|doi-access = free}}</ref> '''Guest''' authors are those that are included with the specific objective to increase the probability that it becomes accepted by a journal. A '''rolling''' authorship is a special case of gift authorship in which the honor is granted on the basis of previous research papers (published or not) and collaborations within the same research group.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ethics – How to get rid of unwanted and annoying co-author?|url=https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21168/how-to-get-rid-of-unwanted-and-annoying-co-author/21173#21173|access-date=2021-01-07|website=Academia Stack Exchange}}</ref> The "rolled" author may (or may not) be imposed by a superior employee for reasons that range from the research group's strategic interests, personal career interests, camaraderie or (professional) concession. For instance, a post-doc researcher in the same research group where his PhD was awarded, may be willing to roll his authorship into any subsequent paper from other researchers in that same group, overseeing the criteria for authorship. Per se, this would not cause authorship issues unless the collaboration was imposed by a third party, like a supervisor or department manager, in which case it is called a ''coercive authorship''.<ref name="coercive authorship">{{Cite journal |doi = 10.3390/medicina56030123 |pmc=7142498|title = Perish or Publish Dilemma: Challenges to Responsible Authorship|year = 2020|last1 = Aliukonis|first1 = V|last2 = Poškutė|first2=M|last3=Gefenas|first3=E|s2cid = 46803021|journal = Medicina|volume = 56|issue = 2|page = 91|pmid = 29422533|doi-access = free}}</ref> Still, omitting the authorship criteria by prioritizing hierarchy arguments, is an unethical practice. This kind of practices may hinder free-thinking and professional independence, and thus should be tackled by research managers, clear research guidelines and authors agreements.

===Ghost authorship{{anchor|Ghost}}===
{{further|Academic ghostwriting}}
{{see also|Medical ghostwriting}}
''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.<ref name="Ghost authorship in industry-initiated randomised trials"/> Researchers, statisticians and writers (e.g. [[medical writer]]s or [[technical writers]]) become ''ghost authors'' when they meet authorship criteria but are not named as an author. Writers who work in this capacity are called [[Ghostwriting#Academic|ghostwriters]].

Ghost authorship has been linked to partnerships between industry and higher education. Two-thirds of industry-initiated [[randomized controlled trial|randomized trials]] may have evidence of ghost authorship.<ref name="Ghost authorship in industry-initiated randomised trials"/> Ghost authorship is considered problematic because it may be used to obscure the participation of researchers with conflicts of interest.<ref name="Handling of scientific dishonesty in the Nordic countries. National Committees on Scientific Dishonesty in the Nordic Countries"/>

Litigation against the pharmaceutical company, [[Merck & Co.|Merck]] over health concerns related to use of their drug, [[Rofecoxib]] (brand name Vioxx), revealed examples of ghost authorship.<ref name=Ross2008>{{Cite journal
| last1 = Ross | first1 = Joseph S.
| last2 = Hill | first2 = Kevin P.
| last3 = Egilman | first3 = David S.
| last4 = Krumholz | first4 = Harlan M.
| s2cid = 205101269
| year = 2008
| title = Guest Authorship and Ghostwriting in Publications Related to Rofecoxib: A Case Study of Industry Documents from Rofecoxib Litigation
| journal = JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
| volume = 299
| issue = 15
| pages = 1800–12
| doi = 10.1001/jama.299.15.1800
| pmid = 18413874
}}</ref> Merck routinely paid medical writing companies to prepare journal manuscripts, and subsequently recruited external, academically affiliated researchers to pose as the authors.

Authors are sometimes included in a list without their permission.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/nmat1264 | title = Authorship without authorization | pmid = 15516947 | year = 2004 | journal = Nature Materials | volume = 3 | issue = 11 | page = 743|bibcode = 2004NatMa...3..743. | doi-access = free }}</ref> Even if this is done with the benign intention to acknowledge some contributions, it is problematic since authors carry responsibility for correctness and thus need to have the opportunity to check the manuscript and possibly demand changes.

===Anonymous and unclaimed authorship===
Authors occasionally forgo claiming authorship, for a number of reasons. Historically some authors have published anonymously to shield themselves when presenting controversial claims. A key example is [[Robert Chambers (publisher born 1802)|Robert Chambers]]' anonymous publication of [[Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation]], a speculative, pre-Darwinian work on the origins of life and the cosmos. The book argued for an evolutionary view of life in the same spirit as the late Frenchman [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck]]. Lamarck had long been discredited among intellectuals by this time and evolutionary (or development) theories were exceedingly unpopular, except among the political radicals, materialists, and atheists – Chambers hoped to avoid Lamarck's fate.

In the 18th century, [[Émilie du Châtelet]] began her career as a scientific author by submitting a paper in an annual competition held by the [[French Academy of Sciences]]; papers in this competition were submitted anonymously. Initially presenting her work without claiming authorship allowed her to have her work judged by established scientists while avoiding the bias against [[women in science|women in the sciences]]. She did not win the competition, but eventually her paper was published alongside the winning submissions, under her real name.<ref>Terrall, M. The uses of anonymity in the age of reason. In ''Scientific Authorship'' Biagioli, M. and Galison, P. eds. Routledge, New York, 2003, pp. 91–112.</ref>

Scientists and engineers working in corporate and military organizations are often restricted from publishing and claiming authorship of their work because their results are considered secret property of the organization that employs them. One notable example is that of [[William Sealy Gosset]], who was forced to publish his work in statistics under the pseudonym "Student" due to his employment at the [[Guinness]] brewery. Another account describes the frustration of physicists working in nuclear weapons programs at the [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory|Lawrence Livermore Laboratory]] – years after making a discovery they would read of the same phenomenon being "discovered" by a physicist unaware of the original, secret discovery of the phenomenon.<ref>Gusterson, H. The death of the authors of death – Prestige and creativity among nuclear weapons scientists. In ''Scientific Authorship'' Biagioli, M. and Galison, P. eds. Routledge, New York, 2003, pp. 282–307.</ref>

[[Satoshi Nakamoto]] is a pseudonym of a still unknown author or authors' group behind a [[white paper]] about [[bitcoin]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theweek.com/articles/561540/misidentification-satoshi-nakamoto|title=The misidentification of Satoshi Nakamoto|date=2015-06-30|website=theweek.com|access-date=2019-07-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-23/john-mcafee-vows-to-unmask-crypto-s-satoshi-nakamoto-within-days|title=John McAfee Vows to Unmask Crypto's Satoshi Nakamoto, Then Backs Off|last=Kharif|first=Olga|date=23 April 2019|work=Bloomberg}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fortune.com/2015/12/09/bitcoin-satoshi-identity/|title=Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto, Inventor of Bitcoin? It Doesn't Matter.|website=Fortune|language=en|access-date=2019-07-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/27/bitcoins-origin-story-remains-shrouded-in-mystery-heres-why-it-matters.html|title=Bitcoin's creator may be worth $6 billion – but people still don't know who it is|last=Bearman|first=Sophie|date=2017-10-27|website=CNBC|language=en|access-date=2019-07-22}}</ref>

In the field of physics, one case of usage of pseudonyms is denounced.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Iorio |first1=L. |title=''Withdrawal:'' 'A new type of misconduct in the field of the physical sciences: The case of the pseudonyms used by I. Ciufolini to anonymously criticize other people's works on arXiv' by L. Iorio |date=2014 |journal=Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology |language=en |volume=65 |issue=11 |pages=2375 |arxiv=1407.2137 |doi=10.1002/asi.23238 |s2cid=62597108}}</ref> [[Ignazio Ciufolini]] is accused of publishing two papers on the scientific preprint archive [[ArXiv|arXiv.org]] under pseudonyms, each criticizing one of the rivals to [[LAGEOS]], what is argued to be a form of [[ventriloquism]].<ref name="neurosceptic">{{cite web |last1=Neuroskeptic |title=Science Pseudonyms vs Science Sockpuppets |url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/science-pseudonyms-vs-science-sockpuppets |website=Discover Magazine |access-date=12 January 2020}}</ref> Such conduct is a violation of arXiv terms of use.<ref name="RW1">{{cite news|title=Journal retracts letter accusing physicist of using fake names to criticize papers|author=Retraction Watch|date=3 June 2014|url=http://retractionwatch.com/2014/06/03/journal-retracts-letter-accusing-physicist-of-using-fake-names-to-criticize-papers-on-arxiv/|access-date=24 May 2019|author-link=Retraction Watch}}</ref><ref name="RW2">{{cite news|title=Retraction of letter alleging sock puppetry now cites "legal reasons"|author=Retraction Watch|date=16 June 2014|url=http://retractionwatch.com/2014/06/16/retraction-of-letter-alleging-sock-puppetry-now-cites-legal-reasons/|access-date=24 May 2019|author-link=Retraction Watch}}</ref><ref name="neurosceptic"/>

===Non-human authorship===
Artificial intelligence systems have been credited with authorship on a handful of academic publications, however, many publishers disallow this on the grounds that "they cannot take responsibility for the content and integrity of scientific papers".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stokel-Walker |first1=Chris |title=ChatGPT listed as author on research papers: many scientists disapprove |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00107-z |access-date=31 January 2023 |work=Nature |publisher=Springer Nature |date=26 January 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Academic writing]]
*[[Conflicts of interest in academic publishing]]
*[[Lead author]]
*[[Scholarly communication]]
*[[Scientific writing]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=

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}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite journal| last=Newman| first=Paul| title=Copyright Essentials for Linguists| date=June 2007| journal=Language Documentation and Conservation| volume=1| issue=1| pages=28–43| url=http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/ldc/June2007/newman/newman.html| access-date=4 July 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703083443/http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/ldc/June2007/newman/newman.html| archive-date=3 July 2007| url-status=dead}}
*: (Includes elements of authorship and how they interact with copyright law)
* {{cite web |url=http://www.plos.org/cms/node/285 |title=Roll Credits: Sometimes the Authorship Byline Isn't Enough. Guest Blog by Michael Molla and Tim Gardner. &#124; Public Library of Science |access-date=2010-04-01 |archive-date=21 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080121031316/http://www.plos.org/cms/node/285 |url-status=dead }}
*:(A proposal to reform academic authorship along the line of film credits)
* {{Cite journal|last1=Sauermann|first1=Henry|last2=Haeussler|first2=Carolin|title=Authorship and contribution disclosures|date=November 2017| journal=Science Advances| volume=3| issue=11| pages=e1700404 | doi=10.1126/sciadv.1700404|pmid=29152564|pmc=5687853|bibcode=2017SciA....3E0404S}}
*: (Interpretation of author order and value of explicit contribution statements)
{{refend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academic Authorship}}
[[Category:Academia|Authorship]]
[[Category:Research]]
[[Category:Academic publishing|Authorship]]
[[Category:Professional ethics]]