Tribune News Network
Doha
In a compelling opinion article, a professor from Qatar University (QU), Prof Ahmed M Megreya, professor of Psychology and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, College of Education at QU, has shed light on a troubling trend plaguing academic research: the unethical practice of buying authorship in scientific publications. This phenomenon, also known as ‘paper mill’ or ‘authorship commerce’, undermines the fundamental principles of research integrity by allowing individuals to purchase authorship credits without contributing substantively to the research process.
Originating in biomedical sciences and now spreading across various disciplines, paper mills operate as black market entities where authorship slots are commodified for sale. These operations extend beyond mere language editing services, often involving the fabrication of data and the submission of papers to prestigious journals under false pretenses. An early article entitled ‘China’s Publication Bazaar’, published by the highly prestigious journal ‘Science’ in 2013, unmasked how some ‘language editing’ agencies in China sell academic authorships in highly prestigious biomedical journals. Not only do these agencies prepare and submit papers on behalf of the researchers, but they may also fabricate and falsify experimental data.
Several ‘Nature’ and ‘Science’ articles have described known paper mills, located in specific non-native English-speaking countries such as China, Russia and Iran. Importantly, many of these paper mills deceitfully claim that they provide author services in the form of language editing but in fact covertly sell authorship. ‘Personal papermills’ represent another method of selling academic authorship, where researchers gather funds from several ‘guest’ authors, then allocate a portion to a ‘ghost’ author, who may or may not appear on the authorship list. Therefore, these well-known paper mills may only represent a small portion of the issue.
Recent investigations by many research integrity sleuths and different nonprofit ethics entities, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Retraction Watch Blog, as well as research integrity advocates such as Jennifer Byrne, a medical scholar at the University of Sydney, and Anna Abalkina, an international economics researcher at Freie Universität Berlin, have uncovered alarming statistics. Researchers have identified hundreds of fake research publications, spanning disciplines from genetics to economics, appearing in both predatory and reputable journals. The scale of this fraudulent trade, as reported by ‘Nature’ and ‘Science’, indicates a pervasive issue affecting a significant percentage of scholarly articles submitted globally.
Prof Megreya identifies several motivations driving researchers to engage in authorship fraud. These include meeting unrealistic promotion criteria, enhancing CVs for career advancement, and exploiting publication incentives offered by academic institutions. The financial rewards associated with publishing in high-impact journals further exacerbate the temptation to purchase authorship credits, perpetuating a cycle of deceit and undermining genuine scientific inquiry.
To combat this growing threat, Prof Megreya advocates for enhanced vigilance and systematic procedures within academic publishing. Collaborative efforts involving publishers, research institutions, and ethics committees are crucial in implementing rigorous detection methods and sanctions against fraudulent practices. Prof Megreya calls upon universities and research centers globally, particularly in the Middle East, to prioritise awareness and ethical education to safeguard the integrity of scholarly research.
This article is a call to attention and a call to action. These calls are equally urgent and relevant to universities and research centres in Middle Eastern countries, as some researchers in some universities have been found to be among the leading purchasers of fake research produced by paper mills, as indicated by Abalkina’s investigation. Universities, publishers, and nonprofit research ethics committees should unite to provide practical solutions for this egregious violation of research integrity.
