There is a nice paper that discusses the responsibility of authorship. Hope it helps.
Weltzin, J.F., R.T. Belote, L.T. Williams, J.K. Keller, and E.C. Engel. 2006. Authorship in ecology: attribution, accountability, and responsibility. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4:435-441. Jordan > Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:37:24 -0700 > From: Alicere Bachman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: writing a paper and authorship > > One of my friends wants me to post the following question and see what > kind of opinions you may have: > > My friend is teaching in an univeristy. A professor in her department > did some interesting work on biodiversity but the professor cannot write > well enough to put the work into a professional paper. The professor > approached her asking her to write the paper for him and her to be the > second author, although she does not have anything to do with the > research work. > > 1. Is this a good collaboration? If it is, many people can ask others > to write papers for them and are still listed as the first authors. > > 2. Is it ethical? (my friend did not do the research; maybe she should > not be a co-author on something she did not do?) > > 3. Should the person writing the paper be the first author? > > > > Alicere > -- Jordan M. Marshall, Ph.D. Post-Doctoral Researcher School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Michigan Technological University Cooperative Emerald Ash Borer Project 5936 Ford Ct. Suite 200 Brighton, MI 48116 Ph (810) 844-2701 Fax (810) 844-0583 www.jordanmarshall.com
