NVA – Norwegian Research Information Repository

Authorship

Generally, an author is considered to be someone who has made a substantive intellectual contribution to a published study. This normally includes anyone who has:

• made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data for the work; and
• drafted or substantively reviewed or revised the publication; and
• approved the final version of the publication; and
• agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work could be appropriately investigated and resolved.

These widely accepted guidelines set a high standard. However there are no universally accepted standards for attributing authorship and there is great variation in practice among different disciplines, research fields and journals.

University affiliation

The institutional affiliation identifies the location where the author or authors were when the research was conducted.

Multiple affiliations occur when an author belongs to more than one organization that has contributed substantially to a research project.

What should the institutional affiliation include?

The address where the author has his/her main position must be listed first.

Employees or students who write or co-write a publication should use "OsloMet – storbyuniversitetet" or "OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University" when crediting the University.

The sub-units' name (faculties, institutes, centers, etc.) may also be included if desired.

Crediting institutions

The main rule for crediting institutions in an academic publication includes the following:

1. The address of the institution must be given in a publication if it has made an essential and substantial contribution to, or provided a basis for an author’s contribution to, the published work.
2. The same author must also state the addresses of other institutions if these also satisfy in each individual case the requirement stated in point 1.
3. An employment relationship or supervisory responsibility can also be deemed to provide a basis for crediting an institution, if the requirement in point 1 is fulfilled.

Important for PhD students

For PhD students who are employed at an institution other than OsloMet, the doctoral institution (OsloMet) has an overarching academic responsibility for the candidate, usually by the (main) supervisor following the candidate’s research work until publication. In such cases, the author shall register both institutions in the publication.

The doctoral institution shall be used as the author's address in a publication in addition to the employer when the degree institution has made a significant contribution via supervision, equipment, work environment, or otherwise. Performing the supervisory responsibility for the publication in question constitutes a sufficient contribution. If this contribution is supervision, less contribution is required than that necessary for the supervisor to be co-author of the work in question.

Clarification of the main rule for authors undergoing education (students, PhD candidates, post‐doctoral research fellows)

Crediting degree-conferring institutions

PhD candidates employed at OsloMet must list OsloMet as the author address, as must other academic staff, provided that the publication is a product of work performed in the position at OsloMet.

The same author must also credit other institutions in the publication if the requirement in point 1 of the main rule is met.

Externally employed PhD candidates must list OsloMet as the author’s address in the publication if OsloMet has provided the basis for, or a necessary and significant contribution to, the published work. An active execution of supervisor responsibility on the relevant publication is considered an adequate contribution.

The same author must also list the main employer's address on publications, if the requirement in point 1 of the main rule is met.

Doctoral candidates who are employed at the institution which has admitted them to the PhD programme shall credit academic publications resulting from research work in the programme in its entirety to the degree-conferring institution if no other institution has made a substantial contribution in the form of supervision, funding, equipment, working environment, or in any other manner. In such cases the author must state his/her affiliation to both institutions in the publication. The institution conferring the doctoral degree has the general academic responsibility for PhD candidates who are employed at another institution in that the (principal) supervisor will normally monitor the student’s research work up to publication. In such cases the author must report the affiliation to both institutions in the publication. The degree-conferring institution is given as the author address in a publication in addition to the employer when a degree conferring institution has made a substantial contribution in the form of supervision, funding, equipment, working environment, or in any other manner. The active execution of the supervisory responsibility vis-à-vis the publication in question is a sufficient contribution. If the contribution is in the form of supervision, less is required than when the supervisor him/herself is to be designated as a co-author of the work in question.

Crediting non degree-conferring institutions

The main rule is that the author states the address of the employer if the work has been conducted as part of the employment relationship. Those with several employment relationships use the employer(s) address(es) if the work was carried out as part of the employment relationship. This requirement is deemed to be satisfied if the author has several employment relationships in research environments with integrated research activity (where the individual employer has joint research activities). The same author must also state the addresses of other institutions if these have made an essential and substantial contribution to or provided a basis for an author’s participation in the published work in each individual case. A substantial contribution means academic supervision in the actual research work, funding of the research, provision of premises in which the research has been conducted and use of equipment and other infrastructure necessary for research work.

See more examples in the guidelines for crediting academic publications to institutions recommended by the Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions, the Association of Norwegian Research Institutes and the National Cooperative Council for Medical and Professional Health Research. 

Crediting externally paid researchers associated with OsloMet

In accordance with good practice for crediting of collaboration partners we ask each individual unit to encourage externally paid researchers to include "OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University" as an author's address if the requirement in point 1 of the main rule has been met.