Multi-affiliation: a growing problem of scientific integrity

Halevi, Gali, Rogers, Gordon, Guerrero-Bote, Vicente-P. and De-Moya-Anegón, Félix Multi-affiliation: a growing problem of scientific integrity. Profesional de la información, 2023, vol. 32, n. 4. [Journal article (Unpaginated)]

[thumbnail of Research article]
Preview
 Text (Research article)
320401_Halevi_Rogers_Guerrero_De-Moya.pdf - Published version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (4MB) | Preview

English abstract

The past decade has witnessed a substantial increase in the number of affiliations listed by individual authors of scientific papers. Some authors now list an astonishing number of institutions, sometimes exceeding 20, 30, or more. This trend raises concerns regarding the genuine scientific contributions these authors make at each institution they claim to be affiliated with. To address this issue, our study conducted a comprehensive regional analysis of the growth of both domestic and international multi-affiliations over the past decade. Our findings reveal certain countries that have experienced an abnormal surge in international multi-affiliation authorships. Coupled with the high numbers of affiliations involved, this emphasizes the need for careful scrutiny of the actual scientific contributions made by these authors and the importance of safeguarding the integrity of scientific output and networks.

Spanish abstract

La última década ha sido testigo de un aumento sustancial en el número de afiliaciones enumeradas por autores individuales de artículos científicos. Algunos autores listan ahora un número asombroso de instituciones, en algunas ocasiones superando las 20, 30 o más. Esta tendencia genera inquietudes sobre las contribuciones científicas reales que estos autores hacen en cada institución a la que dicen estar afiliados. Para abordar este problema hemos llevado a cabo un análisis regional integral del crecimiento de las múltiples afiliaciones nacionales e internacionales durante la última década. Nuestros resultados revelan que ciertos países han experimentado un aumento anormal en las autorías internacionales de afiliación múltiple. La gran cantidad de afiliaciones involucradas resalta la necesidad de un escrutinio cuidadoso de las contribuciones científicas reales realizadas por estos autores y la importancia de salvaguardar la integridad de la producción y las redes científicas.

Item type: Journal article (Unpaginated)
Keywords: Multi-affiliation; Authorship; Institutions; Scientific integrity; Scholarly papers; Scientific contributions; Researchers; Scholarly communication; Multiafiliación; Autorías; Instituciones; Integridad científica; Documentos académicos; Contribuciones científicas; Investigadores; Comunicación académica.
Subjects: C. Users, literacy and reading. > CB. User studies.
E. Publishing and legal issues. > ED. Intellectual property: author's rights, ownership, copyright, copyleft, open access.
H. Information sources, supports, channels. > HA. Periodicals, Newspapers.
Depositing user: Tomàs Baiget
Date deposited: 27 Feb 2026 09:17
Last modified: 27 Feb 2026 09:17
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10760/47711

References

Ansede, Manuel (2023). "One of the world’s most cited scientists, Rafael Luque, suspended without pay for 13 years". El País English, April 2.

https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2023-04-02/one-of-the-worlds-most-cited-scientists-rafael-luque-suspended-without-pay-for-13-years.html

Bachelet, Vivienne C.; Uribe, Francisco A.; Díaz, Rubén A.; Vergara, Alonso F.; Bravo-Córdova, Fabiana; Carrasco, Víctor A.; Lizana, Francisca J.; Meza-Ducaud, Nicolás; Navarrete, María S. (2019). "Author misrepresentation of institutional affiliations: Protocol for an exploratory case study". BMJ Open, v. 9, n. 2, e023983.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023983

Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (2011). "Saudi universities offer cash in exchange for academic prestige". Science, v. 334, n. 6061, pp. 1344-1345.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.334.6061.1344

Cai, Xiaojing; Fry, Caroline-Viola; Wagner, Caroline S. (2021). "International collaboration during the COVID-19 crisis: Autumn 2020 developments". Scientometrics, v. 126, n. 4, pp. 3683-3692.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-021-03873-7

Czerniawska, Dominika; Bochińska, Małgorzata; Oleśkiewicz Piotr; Mostowy Rafał (n. d.). Beyond recognition: Polish scientific diaspora as a source of social capital. Report by the Polonium Foundation.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/587a5f54d1758e3ceff5f171/t/5bee859040ec9aa70e7870d5/1542358423994/ScientificDiaspora_report_poloniumfoundation.pdf

EUR-Lex - 4609295 - EN - EUR-Lex (n.d.).

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/scientific-and-technological-cooperation-between-the-eu-and-tunisia.html

European Commission, Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (2021). Education and training monitor 2021: Country analysis. Publications Office.

https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/54808

Gómez-Flores, Paulina; Morales-Salgado, Vicente; Maza, Angélica; Villarreal, Aline; Lara-Jacobo, Linda R.; Jiménez-Córdova, Mónica-Ivette; Jiménez-Álvarez, Daniel; Hernández-Mondragón, Alma-Cristal (2022). "Mexican scientist diaspora in North America: A perspective on collaborations with México". Frontiers in research metrics and analytics, v. 7.

https://doi.org/10.3389/frma.2022.898896

Gui, Qinchang; Liu, Chengliang; Du, Debin (2019). "Globalization of science and international scientific collaboration: A network perspective". Geoforum, v. 105.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.06.017

Haddad, Eduardo A.; Mena-Chalco, Jesús P.; Sidone, Otávio J. G. (2017). "Scholarly Collaboration in regional science in developing countries: The case of the Brazilian REAL network". International regional science review, v. 40, n. 5, pp. 500-529.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0160017615614898

Hottenrott, Hanna; Lawson, Cornelia (2017). "A first look at multiple institutional affiliations: A study of authors in Germany, Japan and the UK". Scientometrics, v. 111, n. 1, pp. 285-295.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-017-2257-6

Hottenrott, Hanna; Lawson, Cornelia (2022). "What is behind multiple institutional affiliations in academia?". Science and public policy, v. 49, n. 3, pp. 382-402.

https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scab086

Hottenrott, Hanna; Rose, Michael E.; Lawson, Cornelia (2021). "The rise of multiple institutional affiliations in academia". Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, v. 72, n. 8, pp. 1039-1058.

https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24472

Institution tables | Nature Index (2017, pp. November 23).

https://www.nature.com/nature-index/institution-outputs/generate/all/countries-Ukraine/all

Kosyakov, Denis; Guskov, Andrey (2019). "Impact of national science policy on academic migration and research productivity in Russia". Procedia computer science, v. 146, pp. 60-71.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2019.01.080

Landini, Fabio; Malerba, Franco; Mavilia, Roberto (2015). "The structure and dynamics of networks of scientific collaborations in Northern Africa". Scientometrics, v. 105, n. 3, pp. 1787-1807.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1635-1

Lee, Jenny J.; Haupt, John P. (2021). "Scientific globalism during a global crisis: Research collaboration and open access publications on COVID-19". Higher education, v. 81, pp. 949-966.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00589-0

Leogrande, Angelo; Costantiello, Alberto; Laureti, Lucio; Matarrese, Marco-Maria (2022). International scientific co-publications in Europe [MPRA Paper], May 24.

https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/113162

Liu, Hsuan-I.; Chang, Bi-Chun; Chen, Kuan-Chia (2012). "Collaboration patterns of Taiwanese scientific publications in various research areas". Scientometrics, v. 92, n. 1, pp. 145-155.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-012-0719-4

Moustafa, Khaled (2020). "Octopus affiliations". Scientometrics, v. 124, n. 3, pp. 2733-2735.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03600-8

OECD (2022). The future of science in Ukraine. Actions now will affect post-war recovery. November 04.

https://www.oecd.org/ukraine-hub/policy-responses/the-future-of-science-in-ukraine-afbd05df

Sadeh, Sadra; Mirramezani, Matin; Mesgaran, Mohsen B.; Feizpour, Amin; Azadi, Pooya (2019). The scientific output of Iran: Quantity, quality, and corruption. Stanford, Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies, February.

https://iranian-studies.stanford.edu/iran-2040-project/publications/scientific-output-iran-quantity-quality-and-corruption

Sanfilippo, Paul; Hewitt, Alex W.; Mackey, David A. (2018). "Plurality in multi-disciplinary research: Multiple institutional affiliations are associated with increased citations". PeerJ, v. 6, e5664.

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5664

Subbotin, Alexander; Aref, Samin (2021). "Brain drain and brain gain in Russia: Analyzing international migration of researchers by discipline using Scopus bibliometric data 1996-2020". Scientometrics, v. 126, n. 9, pp. 7875-7900.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-021-04091-x

Varghese, N. V. (2022). "Academic collaborations in Asia". International journal of African higher education, v. 9, n. 3, pp. 177-200.

https://doi.org/10.6017/ijahe.v9i3.16055


Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item
Contact us
Send email Sponsors
Sponsor: AIMS Sponsor: D&P Sponsor: UniNa CAB Get connected
Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Linkedin LinkedIn RSS RSS