Gift Authorship as a means of Research Collaboration among Indian Researchers

Abstract

This study examines gift authorship as a means of research collaboration among Indian researchers. A systematic literature review was conducted using keyword searches such as “author”, “authorship”, “gift authorship”, “research collaboration”, “Indian researchers”, and “research collaboration model” from the selected databases, i.e., Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The study found that adding friends and colleagues’ names as co-author through research collaboration without making any significant contribution are commonly practiced among Indian researchers. Recruitment, timely promotion, renewal contract and salary raises motivate gift authorship among Indian researchers. VRC is suggested for a rapid and effective outcome among homogenous disciplines. While HRC is advised for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration, allowing researchers to develop partnerships with various paths for researchers from many fields. Effective research collaboration could increase the value of knowledge generation and, as a result, encourage researchers to adopt effective models of collaboration that will inevitably improve searchers' abilities. The study recommended a research collaboration model (RCM) that will benefit future researchers to sign up for proper collaboration rather than simply adding a name as gift authorship