The title might sound ridiculous. But I work as a research assistant for a disabled (blind) person who has asked me to (after a few months of assisting him with research, as he cannot work the online search masks) essentially start writing on the sections in the outline that I have done research on so far.
He absolutely Can write – as well as read my source documents, even though it presumably takes him a lot more time and effort as he can only read and work his computer by relying on the robot voice. But he works full time in the field he’s writing his PhD in and has published papers before. I simply can’t seem to bring myself to ghostwrite a PhD, no matter the circumstance. Yes, it would be my work that someone else is taking credit for, but worse – I’m one of those people who still believes in academic integrity. I think you cannot have a PhD if you are not the one who has written it. If it was genuinely *impossible* for him to do so, while being a stern believer in making everything as accessible to disabled people as possible at many costs, I just don’t think he should be able to get a PhD.
Will I be the asshole for refusing to essentially ghostwrite said chapters?
NTA and possibly NAH. But I’ve no experience in research fields for phd’s (or anything else research paper related for that matter) so I don’t know what is normal for research assistants to assist with – perhaps speak to whoever is in charge of his phd and ask what is ok for you to assist him with in this respect. They are probably the only one who can give you a reliably knowledgeable answer.
NTA (possibly NAH). I’d probably be wary about it as well. To clarify, are you an assistant because he’s blind, or an assistant for the research? For the former, I’d give the benefit of the doubt. If you’re a research assistant, that’s not part of your job scope, imo.
Is there anyone higher up in the chain of command (dept. supervisor, dean etc.) who you could ask about this? If they agree with you, then you can easily recuse yourself.
Also, if you do write it, see if there’s any way that you can actually get credit on it. I’m not sure how this would be handled, tbf. But a PhD is a lot of work, and if you’re putting in the time, you should be able to list it in your CV.
Thank you for your answer, I’ll share my thoughts.
>Also, if you do write it, see if there’s any way that you can actually get credit on it.
Him giving me adequate credit for fully writing the chapters I’ve done research on would lead to him being stripped of his PhD/simply not getting it. What he’s asking of me is without a doubt against the rules (at least here), so he couldn’t possibly give me appropriate credit
>To clarify, are you an assistant because he’s blind, or an assistant for the research?
I’m specifically employed to help him with research for the PhD due to the fact that he is disabled. Like, I exist because he cannot possibly find all the sources and retrieve all relevant information. I do all of that work – I find sources and I extract what I think are the most important sections into research documents for him to work with. I’d sorta think that’s the outer limit of what is reasonable help with a PhD, and I’m glad to do that work because it helps to make a disabled person’s career more viable and somewhat equal the playing field. I just can’t think of a good enough reason myself how you can be awarded a PhD without having actually been the one to formulate and thus contextualize the actual written content of it. He’s also much more experienced and knowledgeable on this, which is why it’s his PhD and not mine. I don’t even think I’m at all qualified after a few months of research on the topic to actually write chapters of a PhD
edit: just to clarify, I understand he is not intellectually disabled in any way that would affect this. Like I’m not hired to help with writing because he specifically has a problem with that – or anything like that. He’s doing quite well in his field and is much more knowledgeable on the topic than I am
Well he has to defend it before the panel so he better sure know all about it foreword and backward! No you def are NOT the ah
A doctoral dissertation is no small task. It’s a BFD. I have several friends & relatives who have that level of education, but it’s tough.
It would be so funny to attend the dissertation defense and if he fumbles on an answer, you could stand up and talk about that point. Lol that would be rich!!
Having earned several academic degrees and written a few papers myself, this is a hard one.
NTA, but also maybe NAH?
It’s unfair to make you do so much work, and especially if you won’t be credited for it. The biggest issue I see is the potential of the both of you facing allegations of plagiarism and associated charges for it.
My recommendation is speaking with a university/department higher up about the issue, perhaps both alone and as a pair, to clear up not only the plagiarism issue, but also to see if you’re able to earn any credit from the paper.
I’ve seen plenty of postgrad work done as a duo/team and still earn the degree; I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to work out some form of framework for this.
Thank you for your insight, I will try to see who I can talk to about this.
It’s common in academia for research assistants to help professors write papers for peer reviewed journals but a dissertation is another matter. When a research assistant helps in the writing of anything, they are supposed to be credited.
A dissertation is an individual effort; the requirement of the candidate is to add something new to the body of literature for the field. You are not the PhD candidate.
Ask him *in writing* (email is fine) if you will be credited on the dissertation for your contributions, that you thought dissertations were supposed to be solo work and see what he says. My guess is he’ll backtrack quickly. If he doesn’t, have a chat with the Dean about what your job responsibilities actually are.
Academic dishonesty is taken very very seriously. I think he’ll back off but he may try to cause you trouble for refusing which is why you want this in writing. That way you can formally complain about retaliation later if necessary.
Thank you for your insight, I’ll definitely communicate in writing. I have to say, I am extremely torn when it comes to bringing this up with someone because I have trouble completely throwing him under the bus while at the same time suspecting that I’d absolutely bring this up with someone else if he wasn’t disabled – which in itself might be an ableist notion. You know, letting people get away with what I generally find to be dishonest and dishonorable behavior because the person is disabled? That feels sort of like it is disrespectful to the person who very well has the capacity to Be dishonest and dishonorable
Talk to him about clarifying your role before you go above.
Not a bad idea actually.
NAH. I think there is a fine line between being a research assistant and helping to flesh out/commit to writing the concepts given to you by the candidate and being the actual author of the opinions, theories, ideas, findings, etc. Since you have an outline in place to work from, it seems this is more the former situation, which I don’t think is terrible. But if you have issues with it, then you’re clearly not the right assistant for this person and need to let someone else take your place.
Nta, arguably this puts academic integrity into question and you could be held liable as well as him. That would affect your future aspirations. If his disability has an impact on his writing, he should have academic support for this. So unless you were brought on in this capacity, I’d be having a word with his PhD supervisor.
Helping a blind lerson is one thing. Writing for a PhD is another. YWNBTA