Caught between a ghost and a gift: Navigating authorship issues
Abstract
Authorship is often considered to be an academic currency funding several aspects of an academic career.1 Academic institutions are placing more pressure on academics, regardless of discipline or expertise, to author and co-author research outputs. Authorship currency funds promotions, travel opportunities, academic esteem, and some institutions even provide a cash incentive for publishing original research. It is therefore not surprising that phrases like ‘publish or perish’ and ‘I should be writing’ are of similar importance as ‘I need coffee’ and ‘when is the deadline’, in the vocabulary of most academics, whether they are primarily researchers or clinicians.
