Could requiring a presentation of the paper and adding a formalized contributor list solve academia’s credibility problem?

In this short note, we offer a suggestion that we believe may be ethically sound for research. Requiring co-authors to be able to deliver a reasonable presentation of a paper may lead to co-authors being fewer in number and more representative in nature. A research market involving research papers with hundreds of authors, single authors who have been credited with several hundred articles, or strict definitions of who has done what can be troublesome for public faith in research. To some extent, the public view of research as very trustworthy has changed and academic society should consider radical propositions to regain its position as solid and credible.