Presenting affiliations in publications by researchers from CNRS or associated units
Many of the CNRS partners and laboratories ask how to write authors' addresses in scientific articles. The question is made difficult by the complexity of the national research system and the lack of a single wording for units. The CNRS and other Public Scientific and Technological Institutions are in a special situation due to a complex system of unit associations that is specific to France. For example, the CNRS is often confused with a resource agency such as the National Science Foundation. In the interest of efficiency for bibliometric classification, the CNRS is prepared to sacrifice some of its scientific visibility to the benefit of Universities and Grandes Ecoles. In this way it will move closer to the Anglo-Saxon model.
The CNRS model for writing an author's address in a publication
Scientific journals provide authors' mailing addresses as a tool for communication between scientists1 ; their bibliometric use is only derived from this. Furthermore, many journals impose a limit on the number of characters of an article, pushing "acknowledgments" and administrative information to the end; manuscript addresses are often changed authoritatively at the time of publication. An extremely concise outline is therefore required, to avoid address truncation. The schema recommended by the CNRS is:
Name and first name of the author (*)
[Lab name], [University/School], [CNRS and other organizations]; [Postal address].
(*) alternatively, [Last name, first name] or [Last name, initials] or [Initials, last name]:depending on the scientific journal
[Lab name]: the full name of the laboratory or if this is too long, the acronym (e.g. LAC for Laboratoire Aimé Cotton). It must be a unique identifier. Administrative codes such as UMRXXXX, etc. provide little scientific visibility, but can be used by laboratories that have no other name. Where desired (a small team, etc.) it is possible to omit the name of the laboratory and give that of the establishmentdirectly.
[University/School]: follow the Institutions' recommendations. However, some suggest long wording that exceeds the total number of characters allowed in certain journals for addresses. A short title is necessary.
[the CNRS and other Agencies]: the CNRS acronym is simple and unambiguous; you should use the acronyms of other institutions as well. Each organization to which the laboratory belongs should be mentioned2 , preferably separated by a comma (or other separator). For the order of institutions, please respect the order set out in the laboratory's four-year contracts.
[Postal address]: this is essential for correspondence with an author, and must therefore be complete (number and street). In principle, it is the only part that remains in the case of truncation by the journal. Unless they are indispensable, you should avoid purely national acronyms (e.g. Cedex) which lengthen the address and are not understood abroad.
Distinguish between for example the 2 sites of the Kastler Brossel laboratory (LKB) - UMR8552:
- Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, ENS, UPMC, CNRS; 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France
- Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, UPMC, ENS, CNRS; Tour 12, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France ("Laboratoire Kastler Brossel" may become "LKB" if the laboratory so decides).