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Addresses and Affiliation
On a paper, you have to put an address. Originally, this was so that you could receive correspondence about the paper, hence the term “corresponding author”. Nowadays, in these metrics-driven times, the address has taken on greater significance because it affects both rankings and reputation. Which address should you use?
If the work was done at NTU as part of your employment or studies, was funded through NTU and was done using NTU facilities, then the address should obviously be NTU. If the work was done while visiting another institution or on sabbatical, the address should still be NTU as long as you are an NTU employee. Naturally, your host may be acknowledged in a footnote or in the acknowledgements section. If you have a dual affiliation, such as a second appointment at A*STAR, then two (or more) addresses might be appropriate.
The question is more complicated when a faculty member moves to a new place during the project. Which address should be used? The old or the new? Most journals seem to have no policy. The few that do tend to say that the address used should be the one where most of the work was done. This is a good guideline and should be followed, both by faculty members leaving NTU and joining NTU.
Scenarios
- A project was done at NTU but written up after the faculty member had moved to the University of Ruritania. Clearly most of the work was done at NTU so the address for the faculty member should be NTU. The new address might be indicated in a footnote.
- A research fellow worked on a project and left to start their own academic career at the University of Ruritania before the work was published. Maybe they ask their former NTU professor to use their Ruritania address to help them start their career? Which address should be used? The answer is NTU because that is where the work was done.
- An NTU faculty member collected data as part of a project at NTU but then moved to the University of Ruritania. They had permission to take the data and did the processing and analysis at Ruritania. In this case the faculty member must make a judgement to decide which part of the work is the most: the collection nor the analysis. They can then choose the appropriate address. Even if they use the Ruritania address, funding through NTU and NTU facilities must be acknowledged. Obviously, any NTU students or research staff who contributed but did not move with the faculty member should be listed with NTU addresses.
- A NTU faculty member thought that they had completed a research project at NTU, wrote it up and submitted it. While waiting for the reviewers comments, they relocated to the University of Ruritania. The Editor required substantial additional work. Which address should the faculty member use on the new manuscript? The faculty member must make a judgement based on the amount of work, or, if the journal allows, put both addresses. Obviously, any NTU students or research staff who contributed but did not move with the faculty member should be listed with NTU addresses.
- An NTU employee does a part time degree at home in the evenings. As one of the requirements, they do a project. The project is so good, they publish it. Which address should they use? In this case, there is no need to use the NTU address as the work done was separate from their employment.