What Should Be Done To Tackle Ghostwriting in the Medical Literature?
2009

Addressing Ghostwriting in Medical Literature

publication

Author Information

Author(s): Peter C. Gøtzsche, Jerome P. Kassirer, Karen L. Woolley, Elizabeth Wager, Adam Jacobs, Art Gertel, Cindy Hamilton

Hypothesis

What should be done to tackle ghostwriting in the medical literature?

Conclusion

The debate highlights the need for transparency and accountability in authorship to combat ghostwriting in medical literature.

Supporting Evidence

  • Ghostwriting is considered bad publication practice in the medical sciences.
  • Many journals allow professional medical writers to contribute if their role is acknowledged.
  • Ghostwriting can undermine trust in scientific communication.

Takeaway

Ghostwriting is when someone writes a paper but isn't credited as an author, which is unfair. We need to make sure everyone who helps write a paper gets recognized.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pmed.1000023

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