Online Reporter
Simbarashe Murima
University lecturers are crucial in preparing and delivering lectures, supervising and managing students’ research projects, attending conferences, and writing book chapters, articles, and other knowledge-sharing resources.
However, to gain ‘traction’ as a distinguished lecturer in academic research, writing is indispensable.
For instance, publishing a research paper can promote career advancement and enhance professional recognition, enhance collaboration, increase visibility, and strengthen credibility and confidence in the field.
However, this drive for greater visibility in research paper writing to secure funds and collaborations has resulted in a rise in academic “ghostwriting,” which seems to be a relatively contemporary subtle issue in academia.
Nonetheless, ghostwriting is not about the lecturer commissioning a colleague or someone to write an article on his/her behalf; instead, it involves lecturers taking credit for work done by students teaching or supervising.
A classic example is when a lecturer assigns journal writing to honours or master’s level students as a way of assessing their understanding of the lecturer’s “selected” themes. Then, the lecturer proceeds to claim authorship of the work, which was written mainly by their students.
Thus, in this case, ghostwriting occurs when students make significant contributions to a publication but are not identified in the acknowledgements or byline. This act implies plagiarism, which is using other scholars’ ideas and thoughts without giving the primary author deserved acknowledgement.
An additional case would be if a lecturer supervised a student’s dissertation and then went on to write a journal article. The lecturer will write and revise the paper to conduct the research, making them the “Lead Author” and the first author. After that, the student is designated as “Co-Author,” which means he/she works with the lecturer, the primary author, who contributed significantly to the manuscript.
Ghostwriting frequently coexists with guest authorship, which is the practice of naming writers whose contributions are so insignificant and unclear that they shouldn’t be listed on the journal byline.
A senior lecturer who has an overwhelming amount of research to do may encourage students to write portions of their research papers in exchange for a research assistant ‘post’.
Alas, academic dishonesty is nothing new to academics. Academic ghostwriting undermines the credibility of academic publication procedures.
Academic ghostwriting should be exorcised as it is a significant form of academic misconduct, even though it isn’t prohibited by some higher institutions.
In my professional experience, ghostwriting exploits students by harnessing their need to impress and complete the assigned assignment.
I would advise students to report any suspicions they may have about a lecturer’s involvement in any such egregious practice to the research ethics office or committee of the relevant academic institution.
