Research

Changes to the PSL University joint signature guidelines

Le

The guidelines for signatures on scientific publications adopted in 2015 are changing. Daniel Egret, astronomer emeritus at Observatoire de Paris, expert in bibliometrics and project leader at PSL (Paris Sciences & Lettres), details these changes and reviews their implementation.

In May 2018, the signature is changing to a simplified title: PSL University in an English-language context (Université PSL in a French-language context)

The new signature guidelines are moving toward a simplified title: PSL University in an English-language context (Université PSL in a French-language context) instead of “Université de recherche PSL / PSL Research University.” As previously recommended, this title will appear just after the name of the institution (for example, “Observatoire de Paris, PSL University”).

The details of what the signature should include (full name or acronym for a laboratory, order of components, joint supervision) are provided in a version of the signature guidelines tailored for each research unit, which addresses the unique characteristics of each unit and common usages among the relevant scientific community.

The general practice is that all members of the same research unit adopt the same way of writing their affiliation, as determined in the agreement creating the UMR, which makes it easy to identify and recognize the unit’s scientific work.

Since December 2015, when the first guidelines were released, the title “PSL” has become increasingly common, growing from a quarter of all signatures in Q4 2015 to more than 70% currently.

This increase has enhanced the prominence and visbility of our University, its scope, and its disciplinary coverage. It is in keeping with our desire to simplify the landscape of French higher education and make it easier for foreign observers to understand.

The increasingly popular open science approach, which aims to make all publicly funded research more widely accessible, also benefits from our more cohesive signatures; after all, the goal is to clearly locate and identify the origin of the scientific results being presented.

For any questions about the PSL signature, please write to: psl.signature@listes.univ-psl.fr

 

All PSL news
Learn more

For any questions about the PSL signature, please write to:

psl.signature@listes.univ-psl.fr