WE have been lagging behind in the field of research and there are reasons behind the spread of the academic plague we have been suffering from. One prime reason is the demoralising and unethical practice of paid authorship for a research article that is common in Pakistan.

One can find advertisements across social media sites with the following message: “We have a research paper with the following title … if you want to be a co-author, please contact us.” Any individual willing to do so can buy a spot in the authors’ list. The order of the authors is usually determined on the basis of one’s ‘contribution’; whoever pays the most, gets the first spot, followed by the rest in that order. This is a blatant act of academic dishonesty and misconduct.

Further, there are institutions, including public-sector universities, where people at the helm of affairs can be seen arguing that ‘funding helps with publication costs’. However, financial sponsorship does not come with authorship. As per established norms and academic standards followed globally, ‘funding’ is simply recognised in the acknowledgement section.

The integrity of academic research is continuously being compromised by those who practice the buying and selling of authorship. Besides, those who buy authorship should know that they are investing in what may appear to be a quick fix, but may eventually compromise their reputation and career path in the long run.

Aswad Khan
Kamalia

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2025