Ghost authorship, also known as “gift authorship” or “honorary authorship,” is a type of unethical research practice in which a person is added to the list of authors of a scientific or academic paper or project without contributing much or any of the work. This practice is often seen as a way for researchers to promote their academic credibility through their work without properly crediting those who had a significant part in the project.

This practice can be particularly deceptive in scientific research. When the authorship list of a paper contains one or more ghost authors, that can give the impression that they had a major role in the research, when actually they did not. This can lead to misattribution of credit that can be damaging to the researchers who actually did the work.

The unethical nature of ghost authorship is more than just a professional faux pas. In some cases, it is illegal. For example, in the United States, the Federal Drug Administration requires that all authors of a scientific paper that is related to a drug or medical device must have a significant role in the research, and must be named in the paper. Therefore, any papers authored by ghost authors would be in direct violation of the FDA’s regulations.

In addition to being unethical and possibly illegal, ghost authorship can also be harmful to scientific research as a whole, since it can lead to the spread of inaccurate or incomplete information. To prevent this, research institutions and journals now often require that all authors of a paper must sign off on the paper and attest that they have contributed to it.

In conclusion, ghost authorship is an unethical practice in which a person is added to the list of authors of a paper or project without contributing to the work. It is illegal in some cases, and can lead to the spread of inaccurate or incomplete information, which can be detrimental to the research process.