 |
|
Prevalence of Articles With Honorary Authors and Ghost Authors in Peer-Reviewed Medical Journals
Annette Flanagin, RN, MA;
Lisa A. Carey, PhD;
Phil B. Fontanarosa, MD;
Stephanie G. Phillips, MS, PhD;
Brian P. Pace, MA;
George D. Lundberg, MD;
Drummond Rennie, MD
JAMA. 1998;280:222-224.
Context.— Authorship in biomedical publications establishes accountability, responsibility, and credit. Misappropriation of authorship undermines the integrity of the authorship system, but accurate data on its prevalence are limited.
Objectives.— To determine the prevalence of articles with honorary authors (named authors who have not met authorship criteria) and ghost authors (individuals not named as authors but who contributed substantially to the work) in peer-reviewed medical journals and to identify journal characteristics and article types associated with such authorship misappropriation.
Design.— Mailed, self-administered, confidential survey.
Participants.— A total of 809 corresponding authors (1179 surveyed, 69% response rate) of articles published in 1996 in 3 peer-reviewed, large-circulation general medical journals (Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA, and The New England Journal of Medicine) and 3 peer-reviewed, smaller-circulation journals that publish supplements (American Journal of Cardiology, American Journal of Medicine, and American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology).
Main Outcome Measures.— Prevalence of articles with honorary authors and ghost authors, as reported by corresponding authors.
Results.— Of the 809 articles, 492 were original research reports, 240 were reviews and articles not reporting original data, and 77 were editorials. A total of 156 articles (19%) had evidence of honorary authors (range, 11%-25% among journals); 93 articles (11%) had evidence of ghost authors (range, 7%-16% among journals); and 13 articles (2%) had evidence of both. The prevalence of articles with honorary authors was greater among review articles than research articles (odds ratio [OR], 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-2.6) but did not differ significantly between large-circulation and smaller-circulation journals (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 0.96-2.03). Compared with similar-type articles in large-circulation journals, articles with ghost authors in smaller-circulation journals were more likely to be reviews (OR, 4.2; 95% CI, 1.5-13.5) and less likely to be research articles (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.27-0.88).
Conclusion.— A substantial proportion of articles in peer-reviewed medical journals demonstrate evidence of honorary authors or ghost authors.
From JAMA, Chicago, Ill (Ms Flanagin, Dr Fontanarosa, Mr Pace, Dr Lundberg, and Dr Rennie); Marymount Manhattan College, New York, NY (Dr Carey); and Project House Inc, Hackensack, NJ (Drs Carey and Phillips).
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati
What's this?
RELATED LETTER
Guest Authorship, Mortality Reporting, and Integrity in Rofecoxib Studies—Reply
Catherine D. DeAngelis and Phil B. Fontanarosa
JAMA. 2008;300(8):905-906.
EXTRACT
| FULL TEXT
RELATED ARTICLE
July 15, 1998
JAMA. 1998;280(3):303-304.
EXTRACT
| FULL TEXT
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
|
Authorship and Ethical Considerations in the Conduct of Observational Studies
Tornetta et al.
JBJS 2009;91:61-67.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
'Ghostbusting' at Blood
Dunbar and Tallman
Blood 2009;113:502-503.
FULL TEXT
Authorship: why not just toss a coin?
Strange
Am. J. Physiol. Cell Physiol. 2008;295:C567-C575.
FULL TEXT
Guest Authorship, Mortality Reporting, and Integrity in Rofecoxib Studies--Reply
DeAngelis and Fontanarosa
JAMA 2008;300:905-906.
FULL TEXT
Guest Authorship and Ghostwriting in Publications Related to Rofecoxib: A Case Study of Industry Documents From Rofecoxib Litigation
Ross et al.
JAMA 2008;299:1800-1812.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Protecting People With Decisional Impairments and Legal Incapacity Against Biomedical Research Abuse
Noble and Sharav
Journal of Disability Policy Studies 2008;18:230-244.
ABSTRACT
Perceptions of authorship criteria: effects of student instruction and scientific experience
Hren et al.
J. Med. Ethics 2007;33:428-432.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Declaration of medical writing assistance in international peer-reviewed publications.
Woolley et al.
JAMA 2006;296:932-934.
FULL TEXT
Ethical issues in psychopharmacology.
McHenry
J. Med. Ethics 2006;32:405-410.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Authorship of research papers: ethical and professional issues for short-term researchers.
Newman and Jones
J. Med. Ethics 2006;32:420-423.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Writing It Up: A Step-by-Step Guide to Publication for Beginning Investigators.
Kliewer
J. Nucl. Med. Technol. 2006;34:53-59.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Exorcising Ghosts and Unwelcome Guests
Laine and Mulrow
ANN INTERN MED 2005;143:611-612.
FULL TEXT
Authorship ignorance: views of researchers in French clinical settings
Pignatelli et al.
J. Med. Ethics 2005;31:578-581.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Writing It Up: A Step-by-Step Guide to Publication for Beginning Investigators
Kliewer
Am. J. Roentgenol. 2005;185:591-596.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
The Contract Research Organization and the Commercialization of Scientific Research
Mirowski and Van Horn
Social Studies of Science 2005;35:503-548.
ABSTRACT
The Role of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Teaching Psychopharmacology: A Growing Problem
Brodkey
Acad. Psychiatry 2005;29:222-229.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Could It Happen Again?: The Bjork-Shiley Convexo-Concave Heart Valve Story
Blackstone
Circulation 2005;111:2717-2719.
FULL TEXT
The scandal of unfair behaviour of senior faculty
Wagena
J. Med. Ethics 2005;31:308-308.
FULL TEXT
Authorship Criteria and Disclosure of Contributions: Comparison of 3 General Medical Journals With Different Author Contribution Forms
Bates et al.
JAMA 2004;292:86-88.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Interface between authorship, industry and science in the domain of therapeutics
HEALY and CATTELL
Br. J. Psychiatry 2003;183:22-27.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Researcher Contributions and Fulfillment of ICMJE Authorship Criteria: Analysis of Author Contribution Lists in Research Articles with Multiple Authors Published in Radiology
Hwang et al.
Radiology 2003;226:16-23.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Authorship for Research Groups
Flanagin et al.
JAMA 2002;288:3166-3168.
FULL TEXT
Prevalence of Honorary and Ghost Authorship in Cochrane Reviews
Mowatt et al.
JAMA 2002;287:2769-2771.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Who wrote this paper anyway?: The new Vancouver Group statement refines the definition of authorship
Hoey
CMAJ 2000;163:716-717.
FULL TEXT
The Contributions of Authors
Rennie et al.
JAMA 2000;284:89-91.
FULL TEXT
Uneasy Alliance -- Clinical Investigators and the Pharmaceutical Industry
Bodenheimer
NEJM 2000;342:1539-1544.
FULL TEXT
Disclosure of Researcher Contributions: A Study of Original Research Articles in The Lancet
Yank and Rennie
ANN INTERN MED 1999;130:661-670.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
|
