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Dear Gunnar, It’s difficult to say how common this practice is, and in how many labs. First, your sources may be completely trustworthy without being representative. There is a difference between five or six accounts, several dozen accounts, and several hundred accounts. In a world with several hundred thousand labs, one would need quite a few trustworthy accounts to be considered “many.” There is also the question of when the cases occurred. This was a more common practice in the era before widespread policies of the kind to which I provided links, or the policies that Luke Feast noted. Second, standards may differ across disciplines. Newer and weaker research disciplines with less experienced PhD supervisors, lab directors, and centre directors may not be as clearly aware of common standards. This is especially the case for those desperate to publish. Research standards and rules at top universities are understood and made clear across most doctoral disciplines, but relatively few North American universities offer a PhD in design. This is not always the case at universities with younger research traditions, and rarely the case at single-discipline design universities or art and design universities. The same holds true for journals. There have not been many design publications in Science, Nature, or BMJ. There are roughly 200-odd design journals, and only a small percentage among them have specific policies on these issues, generally those within publishing firms that adhere to a common policy for all journals. Third, standards are definitely changing. Universities, journals, and agencies are paying attention to these issues precisely because the problem has become visible and apparent. You are probably right in saying that there have been many cases of gift signatures and tribute signatures. The new emphasis on policies to prevent this practice has developed to combat the practice of gift signatures and tribute signatures. Warm wishes, Ken Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | Editor-in-Chief | 设计 She Ji. The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation | Published by Tongji University in Cooperation with Elsevier | URL: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/she-ji-the-journal-of-design-economics-and-innovation/ Chair Professor of Design Innovation Studies | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, China ||| University Distinguished Professor | Centre for Design Innovation | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia — Gunnar Swanson wrote: —snip— standard practice in many labs ≠ standard practice [generally] BTW, I wrote "This is, I am told, standard practice in many labs" because I have been told this by multiple trustworthy sources. The last time I worked in a lab where projects resulted in published research papers was forty years ago so I have no contemporary first hand experience. —snip— ----------------------------------------------------------------- PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]> Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design -----------------------------------------------------------------