Understanding of Authorship Guidelines and the Frequency of Authorship Misuse: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in the State of Qatar
<p dir="ltr">Ethical authorship practices ensure both accountability and credibility. In this study, we estimated the frequency of encountering honorary and ghost authorship at least once among researchers at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in Qatar. Additionally, we evaluated resear...
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2025
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| _version_ | 1864513523935084544 |
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| author | Seba Qussini (16727773) |
| author2 | Samer Hammoudeh (3095097) Saad Shahbal (9072050) Rajvir Singh (315457) Kris Dierickx (7131551) |
| author2_role | author author author author |
| author_facet | Seba Qussini (16727773) Samer Hammoudeh (3095097) Saad Shahbal (9072050) Rajvir Singh (315457) Kris Dierickx (7131551) |
| author_role | author |
| dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv | Seba Qussini (16727773) Samer Hammoudeh (3095097) Saad Shahbal (9072050) Rajvir Singh (315457) Kris Dierickx (7131551) |
| dc.date.none.fl_str_mv | 2025-11-18T09:00:00Z |
| dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv | 10.1177/15562646251395350 |
| dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv | https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Understanding_of_Authorship_Guidelines_and_the_Frequency_of_Authorship_Misuse_A_Descriptive_Cross-Sectional_Study_in_the_State_of_Qatar/31240132 |
| dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv | CC BY 4.0 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv | Health sciences Health services and systems Philosophy and religious studies Applied ethics research integrity honorary authorship ghost authorship ethics Qatar authorship misuse |
| dc.title.none.fl_str_mv | Understanding of Authorship Guidelines and the Frequency of Authorship Misuse: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in the State of Qatar |
| dc.type.none.fl_str_mv | Text Journal contribution info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion text contribution to journal |
| description | <p dir="ltr">Ethical authorship practices ensure both accountability and credibility. In this study, we estimated the frequency of encountering honorary and ghost authorship at least once among researchers at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in Qatar. Additionally, we evaluated researchers’ familiarity with standard authorship guidelines. Using a cross-sectional design, we administered a pre-developed anonymous online survey to 4043 researchers. Descriptive statistics in the form of percentages and frequences along with a 2-sided Chi-square tests were used. Significance was defined as p ≤ .05. Overall, researchers demonstrated low awareness of adopted authorship guidelines. While 24% of respondents reported never having heard of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, 76% were aware of them but unfamiliar with the content. Additionally, the low awareness coincided with reported frequencies of having encountered honorary and ghost authorship at least once—70.5% and 45.5%, respectively. In conclusion, authorship misuse is a significant issue in Qatar, and appears to occur at levels consistent with those found in international surveys. It remains a delicate matter that can be approached by promoting awareness, educating researchers, and encouraging adherence to guidelines.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/15562646251395350" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/15562646251395350</a></p> |
| eu_rights_str_mv | openAccess |
| id | Manara2_313ec7f6f7d0e8293070282e2486a3ad |
| identifier_str_mv | 10.1177/15562646251395350 |
| network_acronym_str | Manara2 |
| network_name_str | Manara2 |
| oai_identifier_str | oai:figshare.com:article/31240132 |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| repository.mail.fl_str_mv | |
| repository.name.fl_str_mv | |
| repository_id_str | |
| rights_invalid_str_mv | CC BY 4.0 |
| spelling | Understanding of Authorship Guidelines and the Frequency of Authorship Misuse: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in the State of QatarSeba Qussini (16727773)Samer Hammoudeh (3095097)Saad Shahbal (9072050)Rajvir Singh (315457)Kris Dierickx (7131551)Health sciencesHealth services and systemsPhilosophy and religious studiesApplied ethicsresearch integrityhonorary authorshipghost authorshipethicsQatarauthorship misuse<p dir="ltr">Ethical authorship practices ensure both accountability and credibility. In this study, we estimated the frequency of encountering honorary and ghost authorship at least once among researchers at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in Qatar. Additionally, we evaluated researchers’ familiarity with standard authorship guidelines. Using a cross-sectional design, we administered a pre-developed anonymous online survey to 4043 researchers. Descriptive statistics in the form of percentages and frequences along with a 2-sided Chi-square tests were used. Significance was defined as p ≤ .05. Overall, researchers demonstrated low awareness of adopted authorship guidelines. While 24% of respondents reported never having heard of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, 76% were aware of them but unfamiliar with the content. Additionally, the low awareness coincided with reported frequencies of having encountered honorary and ghost authorship at least once—70.5% and 45.5%, respectively. In conclusion, authorship misuse is a significant issue in Qatar, and appears to occur at levels consistent with those found in international surveys. It remains a delicate matter that can be approached by promoting awareness, educating researchers, and encouraging adherence to guidelines.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/15562646251395350" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/15562646251395350</a></p>2025-11-18T09:00:00ZTextJournal contributioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontextcontribution to journal10.1177/15562646251395350https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Understanding_of_Authorship_Guidelines_and_the_Frequency_of_Authorship_Misuse_A_Descriptive_Cross-Sectional_Study_in_the_State_of_Qatar/31240132CC BY 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:figshare.com:article/312401322025-11-18T09:00:00Z |
| spellingShingle | Understanding of Authorship Guidelines and the Frequency of Authorship Misuse: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in the State of Qatar Seba Qussini (16727773) Health sciences Health services and systems Philosophy and religious studies Applied ethics research integrity honorary authorship ghost authorship ethics Qatar authorship misuse |
| status_str | publishedVersion |
| title | Understanding of Authorship Guidelines and the Frequency of Authorship Misuse: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in the State of Qatar |
| title_full | Understanding of Authorship Guidelines and the Frequency of Authorship Misuse: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in the State of Qatar |
| title_fullStr | Understanding of Authorship Guidelines and the Frequency of Authorship Misuse: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in the State of Qatar |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding of Authorship Guidelines and the Frequency of Authorship Misuse: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in the State of Qatar |
| title_short | Understanding of Authorship Guidelines and the Frequency of Authorship Misuse: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in the State of Qatar |
| title_sort | Understanding of Authorship Guidelines and the Frequency of Authorship Misuse: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study in the State of Qatar |
| topic | Health sciences Health services and systems Philosophy and religious studies Applied ethics research integrity honorary authorship ghost authorship ethics Qatar authorship misuse |