More than $100 million changes hands in China every year for ghost-written academic papers, according to research by a Chinese university. 

    The Wuhan University study said that Chinese academics and students frequently buy and sell scientific papers to swell publications lists. The purported authors frequently do not write the papers they sign. 

    China ranks second behind the United States by number of academic papers published every year. 

    In a country desperate to catch up with the developed world in science and technology, academic shortcuts have cast a shadow over China’s long-term innovative potential, according to BBC China analyst Shirong Chen. 

    The market in buying and selling scientific papers has grown five-fold in the past three years. Some hard-up masters or doctorate students make a living by churning out papers. Others mass-produce scientific papers in return for monetary rewards from their institutions. 

    Two lecturers from central China were sacked late last month after it was discovered that they had falsified 70 papers in two years.

    Critics suggest a part of the problem lies in official ties between academic publication and degrees or job promotions. An erosion in the academic code of conduct is also cited as a core problem.

    Observers expressed a hope that the eye-opening numbers cited in the latest study would serve as a wake-up call to both academics and regulators.

    Source: news.bbc.co.uk

    学术欺诈为中国创新投下阴影

    ▲A sample of pay－for－play scientific magazines

    中国一所大学的研究发现，每年，因学术论文代笔而易手的钞票超过1亿美元。

    武汉大学的这项研究称，中国大学教师和学生经常买卖学术论文，令出版物大量增加。许多伪作者从来就没撰写过以他们署名的论文。

    以每年出版的学术论文数量计算，中国排在美国之后位列第二。

    BBC中国分析人士陈时荣（音）说，对一个急切地想在科技上追赶发达世界的国家来说，学术剽窃为其长期的创新潜力投下了阴影。

    过去3年里，买卖学术论文市场增长了5倍。一些手头拮据的拥有硕士或博士头衔的学生正通过为别人滥造论文谋生。而其他人批量制造学术论文，为了从所在的机构获取金钱回报。

    中国中部地区的两名大学讲师上月底遭到解聘，他们被发现在两年的时间里伪造了70篇论文。

    批评者称，问题的部分原因在于，在学位和职务晋升上，官方要求发表学术论文。此外，问题的根源在于学术行为准则的削弱。

    观察家们希望，这项最新调查所提供的惊人数字能作为警钟，促使学者和管理者觉醒。