The Ethics of Ghostwriting in Academic Studies and Research

This article discusses the ethics of ghostwriting in academic studies and research, including the emergence of paper writing factories and the use of ghostwriters by researchers and academics. The article also explores the reasons why recommendations for ethical practices have not been widely implemented by academic institutions and journal editors.

Running head: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
Professional skills for Information and Communication Technology
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author Note

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Portfolio 3: Responding to an Ethical Scenario:
The ethics of ghost writing has been complicated debate. Transparency is virtue and great
authors and communicators have been happy to provide credits because of various other writers are
involved in it. Further, collaboration is a smart thing. There is nothing wrong for me in the current
situation what my friends are doing. However, in the world of academic studies and field of
research, ghostwriting is seen as a kind of plagiarism. Ghostwriting is the resource which is very
frequently used by students of universities, They must present the piece of written work that must
help them to become graduate, masters and do post graduate thesis. Due to this practice, the paper
writing factories have emerged. It has charged to write every kind of academic tasks. This is the
reason their number has increased over the last decades. It has offered various services on-line.
The ghostwriters are utilized at many occasions by active researchers and academics that
have contracted with various researchers. These types of researchers have been underemployed,
unemployed or having low positions of writing articles and books. These are done without the
identification of the authors. The practice has been restricted to medical researchers, though they
have constituted most of the cases. It can take place that any group of researchers has been
contracting to professional writers for editing documents. This is done on the basis of original
research data. However, these are the researchers who have been continuing to control of written
work. This is done by blocking the marketing messages favorable for products or companies. It has
been early phase of these practices that is condemned as unethical and unacceptable. However,
recommendations have not been widely implemented by academic institutions and various journal
editors for different reasons that are unacceptable and understandable.

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There have been many editors who have not been implementing the ACS Code of Ethics
and/or ACS Code of Professional Conduct. This is because the agencies hiring and paying
ghostwriters are the same who have been advertising in their journals and having contracts regarding
distribution of reprints. The codes of ethics for academic profession are holding various conventions
about deception. Further, truth in public communications directs people to always do the best to be
truthful to our messaging both in delivery and content. Further, it must be reminded that ethics
across ghostwriting must be continuing to confuse and divide. There is no other way across it. The
problem will be growing. This is due to the reason that web has made us more dependent on writing
form of communication. The second reason is that Internet has made use easier than ever for people
to connect with and then hire potential ghostwriters.

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References:
Fusch, P. I., Ness, L. R., Booker, J. M., & Fusch, G. E. (2017). The Ethical Implications of
Plagiarism and Ghostwriting in an Open Society. Journal of Social Change, 9(1), 4.
Jureidini, J. N., Amsterdam, J. D., & McHenry, L. B. (2016). The citalopram CIT-MD-18 pediatric
depression trial: Deconstruction of medical ghostwriting, data mischaracterisation and
academic malfeasance. International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine, 28(1), 33-43.
Knapp, J. C., & Hulbert, A. M. (2017). Academic Dishonesty. In Ghostwriting and the Ethics of
Authenticity (pp. 85-105). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Matheson, A. (2016). Ghostwriting: the importance of definition and its place in contemporary drug
marketing. BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online), 354.

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