These Publication Guidelines are binding for all members of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (referred to as JGU in the following) and the University Medical Center (referred to as UM in the following). The Guidelines also apply to visiting scholars, honorary and endowed professors, and lecturers, insofar as their publications are directly connected to their employment at JGU and a substantial part of their research was completed at JGU.

The Guidelines apply to scholarly publications in particular. Furthermore, the Guidelines are to be applied everywhere researchers state their name and affiliation, e.g., when registering patents, submitting grant applications, in conference presentations, and in publicly accessible research data.

Zur eindeutigen Zuordnung von Publikationen trägt neben dem Universitätsnamen auch die institutionelle Zuordnung innerhalb der Universität bei. Die Angabe von Fachbereichen, Instituten und anderen nachgeordneten Organisationseinheiten ist optional, wird jedoch empfohlen. Bei englischsprachigen Publikationen können die englischsprachigen Bezeichnungen angegeben werden. Die offizielle Schreibweise der jeweiligen Einheiten ist im Personen- und Einrichtungsverzeichnis der JGU hinterlegt. Die Reihenfolge der Nennung ist dabei abhängig von den Richtlinien des jeweiligen Publikationsorgans.

(1) Name of the Institution

When identifying an affiliation, the institutions are to be referenced exclusively in the following form: 

Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz or

Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

The English equivalents are:

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz or

University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

The official acronyms of Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) and the University Medical Center (UM) or the abbreviations “Mainz University” or “Mainz University Medical Center” are not to be used when stating affiliations in the entire publication process, including when filling out official components of publications.

The institutions’ persistent identifiers in commonly used databases are:

The identifier of the university library, “DE-77,” is also to be used in dissertations if required by the doctoral degree regulations.

(2) Citing the organizational unit 

In addition to the name of the university, citing the name of the organizational unit within the university can help specify the affiliation. Including the names of faculties, institutes, and other subordinate organizational units is optional, but recommended. For English-language publications, the official English translations can be used. Each unit’s official designation can be found in the JGU Directory (Personen- und Einrichtungsverzeichnis).[4] The order in which the affiliations are named depends on the publisher’s guidelines.

Examples:

(3) University Medical Center members

Members of the University Medical Center must explicitly state their affiliation with UM. The official designations of the University Medical Center and any subordinate institutes and clinics (whose inclusion is optional) must be used.[5] They can be in German or English. The order in which the affiliations are named depends on the publisher’s guidelines.

Examples:

(4) Multiple institutional affiliations

Researchers may have long-term affiliations with multiple institutions as a result of joint appointments or cross-institutional doctoral programs. Cross-institutional research centers or comparable partner institutions also often expect to be mentioned individually.

• If researchers have long-term affiliations with further institutions in addition to JGU or UM, they must also state their names. Provisions the other institutions or partner institutions may have in place for stating affiliations must be observed. If no other sequence of stating affiliations is specified, the following sequence applies: Jointly appointed professors name the institution at which the majority of the research the publication discusses took place first.
• Doctoral candidates name JGU first when possible.
• Members of cross-institutional research centers and comparable partnerships who are employed at JGU or UM should name JGU or UM first.

Visiting scholars can name JGU or, if applicable, UM as an affiliation in all publications in which a substantial portion is based on research conducted during their stay, even if the publication only appears once their stay is over.

(5) Change of institutional affiliation

If researchers change their institutional affiliation during the research or publication process, they name the institution at which the research was ultimately conducted. If relevant parts of the research to be published took place at both institutions, both are named. The institution at which the greater amount of research was carried out is named first.

(6) Names of individuals and academic identity management

In order to be able to attribute publications and research achievements to the correct individual, they must be unmistakably identifiable. This clear identification will ensure the visibility of the research achievement in its entirety in the relevant databases such as the Web of Science, Scopus or PubMed. The unambiguous attribution of research achievements is guaranteed by using an identifier for academic identity management. This is especially important for those with common names, for those whose names can be written in a variety of ways due to the use of diacritics, for those with multiple given or last names, and in case of name changes.

JGU recommends consistent use of the Open Researcher Contributor Identification ID (ORCID-ID) for publishing, when submitting grant applications, and at conferences and similar occasions. In JGU’s research information system, researchers can link their ORCID-ID to their personal profile.

In addition, choosing one way of writing your name early on and being consistent about its use is recommended. If the use of diacritics is limited for technological reasons, the simplest possible alternative should be used (e.g., ä/a, ö/o, ü/u, ß/ss, č/c, ê/e).

(7) Funding information

Publications resulting from projects funded by third parties must include the pertinent information on the funding body and project in the funding acknowledgement. Funding organizations generally require mention. Their particular provisions are to be observed. The funding acknowledgement must include the coverage of open access publication costs through centralized or decentralized funds if confirmation of funding was received by the time of publication.

Examples:

(8) Open Access

JGU and UM view open access as an integral part of open science and therefore expressly support the open access transformation of the academic and scientific publishing industry. The provisions and recommendations for the implementation of JGU’s open access strategy are recorded in the Open Access Policy.[6] Authors are expressly asked to make use of the options referenced in the policy to support the open science movement.

(9) Recording publications in the research information system

JGU uses the research information system Gutenberg Research Elements in order to provide a transparent and structured overview of the volume of publications as well as further information about researchers.[7] The information entered there is used for JGU Reporting and is included in the university bibliography. Researchers can also make use of their entry or entries in the research information system by linking them to their public profile pages. This increases the visibility of research conducted at Mainz University and contributes to open scholarly communication. JGU therefore asks all researchers to register their publications and other research activities on Gutenberg Research Elements, keep them up-to-date, and include them in their public profile pages.

Notwithstanding this, members of the University Medical Center are obligated to enter their research activities in the science management system “WiMS.”[8].

(10) Social Media

JGU and UM have accounts on several social media channels. When posting about topics related to research, teaching, or knowledge and technology transfer on social media, the corresponding accounts and hashtags must be referenced.

• X
  • /uni_mainz for https://twitter.com/uni_mainz or /uni_mainz_eng for https://twitter.com/uni_mainz_eng // #UniMainz
  • /unimedizinmainz for https://twitter.com/unimedizinmainz // #unimedizinmainz
• Facebook
  • /unimainz for https://www.facebook.com/unimainz // #UniMainz
  • /unimedizinmainz for https://www.facebook.com/unimedizinmainz // #universitätsmedizinmainz
• Instagram
  • /unimainz for https://www.instagram.com/unimainz // #UniMainz
  • /unimedizin_mainz for https://www.instagram.com/unimedizin_mainz // #unimedizinmainz
• LinkedIN
  • /school/unimainz for https://www.linkedin.com/school/unimainz // #UniMainz
  • /unimedizin-mainz for https://www.linkedin.com/company/unimedizin-mainz // #unimedizinmainz
• YouTube
  • /@uni_mainz for https://www.youtube.com/@uni_mainz // #UniMainz
  • /unimedizinmainz for https://www.youtube.com/user/unimedizinmainz // #unimedizinmainz

The university library and certain other offices at JGU and UM offer support and advice in matters pertaining to the implementation of these Guidelines or publishing in general.

JGU members active in research are expected to maintain the standards of good research practice. The implementation of the Publication Guidelines and the included provisions is based on the “Regulations for ensuring good research practice and for dealing with research misconduct of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz” as amendede identity.[9]

The JGU university library is responsible for formal updates to the provisions set out in these Guidelines. Amendments or changes must be approved by the Senate of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

These JGU Publication Guidelines enter into force on the day following their announcement in the JGU gazette of publications (Veröffentlichungsblatt). They will be published on the JGU university library’s website and circulated to the faculties, the Academy of Fine Arts and School of Music, and the central institutions. 

Beschlossen durch den Senat am 12.01.2024.