Is a gift authorship really a grift authorship?

Abstract

A senior resident wrote an innovative paper comparing several different endovascular techniques. Working closely with his faculty mentor, he designed the study, got permission from the Institutional Review Board, collected the data, and wrote the paper. A faculty mentor supervised the study, allowing his patients to be included, and made design suggestions. A departmental statistician analyzed the data. Now that the paper is ready for submission, the mentor suggests that he, the statistician, another widely published senior faculty member, and especially the chair, be included as co-authors. The reasoning is that the resident will benefit from the good will of the senior faculty member and chair and likely will be incorporated on the included faculty's bylines as well. He was told: "It is a widely accepted practice and will certainly thicken your CV." The resident should: A.Cite as authors only himself and the faculty member who served as his mentor. B.Include as authors his mentor, the surgeon who operated on the study patients, and the statistician. C.Include his mentor, the surgeon who operated on the study patients, the widely published senior faculty member, and the chair. D.List only himself as the paper's author. E.Include as authors his mentor, the statistician, and the senior Faculty member.