The pathology of authorship
| Terminology | Definition | Examples | Prevalence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gift or guest author | Honorary author | Senior academician | Very common (> 50%) |
| Ghost author | Paid to not author paper | Sponsor payroll | Common (20–50%) |
| Gold author | Paid to author the paper | Allen’s vodka man | Uncommon (5–20%) |
| Fake author | Does not exist | S. Bestiale | Rare (< 5%) |