The practice of honorary authorship also deserves scrutiny. Renaissance painters trained their apprentices by allowing them to work on canvases to which the master then signed his name. This tradition gave way, over time, to fairer recognition of an individual artist's contributions. In some fields of science and engineering, it is traditional to place the senior researcher's name on all work done by the group. Not every tradition is good.
Honorary authorship diffuses accountability and can lead to irresponsible research.
Failure to bring wrongdoing to the attention of those responsible for the research is also incorrect behavior. Any assault on the integrity of science and engineering damages all researchers. Misconduct erodes research standards and norms, and leaves a bad impression of science and engineering in the minds of the public. Researchers have a professional and ethical duty to protect the integrity of the enterprise and sanction misconduct promptly. The conduct of research is a complex and demanding task.