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2. Control Group Selection and Rationale To ensure a reliable and meaningful comparison, we adopted a two-pronged approach for benchmarking: a national benchmark based on aggregated data from the study group countries—Egypt, India, Iraq, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia; and a global control group comprising well-established universities known for their adherence to high-standard conventional authorship practices. This approach allowed for a broad, stable comparison, mitigating the distortions that the peculiarities of national institutions in the study group countries might introduce. For the global control group, we selected four internationally renowned universities that consistently rank among the top 10 in the Academic Ranking of World Universities: Caltech) MIT) Princeton University, and UC Berkeley. These universities were chosen for several reasons: ▪ Research stability: These institutions have consistently high research output, providing a solid benchmark against which to assess the rapid and significant growth seen in the study group universities. ▪ Global influence: As global leaders in research, their practices set a high bar, making them ideal comparators for assessing the broader implications of questionable authorship and affiliation behaviors. ▪ Disciplinary balance: According to Scopus, the study and control groups share the same top seven subject categories as their main research strengths, reinforcing the comparability of their research portfolios.