THIS refers to the letter ‘Research papers are really up for sale’ (Aug 25). The issue of ghost writers highlighted by the said letter can be resolved to a greater extent if the number of authors on each research article is limited to two.

Further, the number of research papers to be published by a researcher in any academic journal should be restricted to one article per year so that the focus of the researcher remains on the quality of work rather than the quantity of articles.

As things stand today, this is the major issue in the whole scheme of things.

In addition, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in collaboration with the universities should provide free online access to national and international libraries for thorough literature review to the candidates who are enrolled in MS, MPhil and PhD programmes.

The government should allocate sufficient funds for the purpose. Also, the relevant entities should host foreign researchers for the benefit of the local researchers.

And, last, but not least, the local organisations should wholeheartedly inspire and reward their employees, who, besides performing their jobs, endeavour to contribute to the academia by conducting research in their respective fields of specialisation.

Bisharat Ali Kunbhar
Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2021