Publishing & Presenting Research
Overview
Publishing and presenting research are essential parts of the University's research and scholarly mission. Most publications and presentations do not require review by the Office of Research Security (ORS).
However, researchers should consider whether sponsor, contractual, disclosure, research information protection, export control, or other requirements apply before submitting a manuscript, presenting research, or otherwise making research results publicly available.
Publications and presentations may also document authorship, institutional affiliations, research collaborations, funding sources, and other research support relevant to sponsor reporting and research administration. Accurate attribution and acknowledgment help support transparency and responsible stewardship of research.
ORS assists researchers in identifying requirements that may affect the publication or presentation of research and coordinates with the appropriate University offices, as needed.
REQUEST A RESEARCH SECURITY REVIEW
Contact ORS Before You
Most publications and presentations do not require ORS review.
Contact ORS before publishing or presenting research if:
- The publication or presentation may disclose export-controlled information or other information subject to restrictions on public release.
- The research is subject to publication, dissemination, access, or participation restrictions that may affect the applicability of the fundamental research exclusion.
- A sponsor, collaborator, or other external party requests a restriction on publication or public dissemination that raises research security or export control concerns.
- The research is subject to a Technology Control Plan (TCP) or other ORS-administered control requiring review before public release.
- You are uncertain whether export control, research security, or other ORS-administered requirements restrict what may be publicly disclosed.
Key Considerations
Authorship and contributor information should accurately reflect the individuals who contributed to the research and the nature of their contributions.
Researchers should:
- Ensure that individuals identified as authors meet applicable University, disciplinary, journal, and sponsor expectations for authorship.
- Accurately identify individuals who contributed to the research and publication.
- Discuss authorship and contributor expectations early in a research project and revisit those expectations as contributions change.
- Avoid honorary, guest, gift, or other inappropriate authorship practices.
- Use contributor statements or recognized contributor taxonomies when required or appropriate.
Stony Brook University's Recommendations on Authorship provide guidance regarding authorship attribution, author responsibilities, inappropriate authorship practices, and resolution of authorship disputes.
Questions regarding authorship attribution or disputes should be addressed through the University's authorship guidance and appropriate academic or research integrity processes.
Publications and presentations should accurately represent the institutional affiliations associated with the research, research collaborations, funding sources, and other support.
Researchers should ensure that:
- Author affiliations accurately reflect the institution or institutions where the research was conducted or supported, consistent with applicable journal, publisher, sponsor, and institutional requirements.
- A current affiliation that differs from the affiliation associated with the research is identified separately, when appropriate.
- Sponsored funding is appropriately acknowledged.
- Research collaborators and contributors are accurately represented.
- Other affiliations associated with the research are accurately identified when required.
- Information reflected in publications is consistent with applicable sponsor disclosures and reporting.
Publications may be used in sponsor progress reports, final reports, disclosure reviews, research administration, and other institutional activities. Researchers should therefore ensure that information concerning affiliations, collaborations, funding, and research support is complete and accurate.
Sponsor awards, research agreements, Data Use Agreements, confidentiality agreements, and other project documents may establish requirements that affect publication or presentation.
Requirements may address:
- Acknowledgment of sponsored funding.
- Publication or dissemination of research results.
- Prepublication review.
- Protection of sponsor-provided proprietary or confidential information.
- Protection of patent or intellectual property rights.
- Government information.
- Data use or confidentiality requirements.
- Other project-specific obligations.
Researchers should understand applicable requirements before submitting or publicly presenting research results and should work with the appropriate University office when contractual or sponsor requirements require institutional action.
Researchers should not independently agree to publication, dissemination, access, or participation restrictions on behalf of the University.
Publication, dissemination, access, or participation restrictions may affect how research results can be shared and, in some circumstances, whether research qualifies for applicable exclusions under U.S. export control regulations.
Researchers should identify restrictions that may arise from:
- Sponsor terms and conditions.
- Research agreements.
- Confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements.
- Proprietary information received from another organization.
- Government information requirements.
- Export control requirements.
- Other contractual or project-specific obligations.
Restrictions on publication or participation should be identified as early as possible in the research lifecycle.
Contact ORS when restrictions may affect the applicability of the fundamental research exclusion or otherwise raise research security or export control concerns.
Research projects may involve proprietary or confidential information received from sponsors, collaborators, companies, universities, or other external organizations.
Before including third-party information in a manuscript, abstract, presentation, poster, slide deck, or other public research output, researchers should confirm that the information is authorized for public disclosure.
The fact that a project involves fundamental research does not necessarily make proprietary or confidential information received from another party publicly releasable.
Researchers should follow the confidentiality, use, and disclosure requirements applicable to the information.
WORKING WITH PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL RESEARCH INFORMATION
Government information and export-controlled information may be subject to specific access, safeguarding, use, and dissemination requirements.
Before including such information in a publication, presentation, abstract, poster, demonstration, or other public research output, researchers should determine whether the information is authorized for public release.
Information resulting from qualifying fundamental research may be treated differently under U.S. export control regulations from proprietary information, export-controlled technical information received from another party, or research subject to publication or participation restrictions.
Contact ORS if you are uncertain whether export control or government information requirements restrict public disclosure.
WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
PROTECT EXPORT-CONTROLLED EQUIPMENT, TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION
International Coauthors & Collaborators
International coauthorship and collaboration are common and important components of University research. The participation of an international researcher or institution in a publication does not, by itself, require ORS review.
Researchers should, however, ensure that:
- International collaborations and affiliations are accurately represented.
- Applicable sponsor disclosure requirements have been addressed.
- Research support associated with the collaboration is appropriately acknowledged or reported.
- Required institutional reviews have been completed.
- Information shared with collaborators is authorized for release.
- Restricted Entity Screening or other research security review has been completed when required.
Presentations may involve considerations beyond publication of a manuscript because researchers may share information through slides, posters, demonstrations, discussions, question-and-answer sessions, or informal conversations.
Before presenting research, consider:
- Whether the presentation or session is open to the public or participation is restricted.
- Whether unpublished, proprietary, confidential, government-controlled, or export-controlled information will be discussed.
- Whether software, technology, equipment, research materials, or technical information will be demonstrated or shared.
- Whether sponsor or agreement requirements apply to the presentation.
- Whether international travel or sanctioned destinations are involved.
- Whether questions, demonstrations, or informal discussions could result in disclosure of information that should not be shared.
CONFERENCES, PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES & EXTERNAL APPOINTMENTS
Before You Publish or Present
Before submitting or publicly presenting research, consider:
- Are authors and contributors accurately identified?
- Do author affiliations accurately reflect the institution or institutions associated with where the research was conducted or supported, with current affiliations identified separately when appropriate?
- Are funding sources and other research support appropriately acknowledged?
- Have applicable sponsor disclosure and reporting requirements been addressed?
- Does the award or research agreement contain publication or dissemination requirements?
- Does the publication or presentation contain information received from another organization?
- Is any information proprietary, confidential, government-controlled, export-controlled, or otherwise restricted?
- Is sponsor or third-party review required before public release?
- Does the project have a Data Protection Plan, Technology Control Plan, or other project-specific requirements governing dissemination?
- Will unpublished or restricted information be discussed during a presentation, demonstration, Q&A, or other interaction?
- Are there international collaboration, Restricted Entity Screening, sanctions, or other research security considerations associated with the activity?
If you are uncertain whether a requirement applies, contact ORS before publication or presentation.
Related Guidance
| Related Guidance | Description |
|---|---|
| University Recommendations on Authorship | University guidance regarding authorship attribution, author responsibilities, inappropriate authorship practices, and resolution of authorship disputes. |
| Sponsor & Agreement Requirements | Guidance for identifying research security, publication, information protection, export control, and other requirements contained in sponsor terms and research agreements. |
| Sharing Research Information | Guidance for sharing research information, data, software, technology, technical information, presentations, publications, and other research outputs. |
| Working with Proprietary & Confidential Research Information | Guidance for receiving, accessing, using, storing, sharing, and protecting proprietary or confidential research information. |
| Working with Government Information | Guidance for receiving, accessing, using, storing, sharing, and protecting government information. |
| International Collaborations | Guidance for planning, establishing, conducting, and managing research collaborations with international researchers and organizations. |
| Conferences, Professional Activities & External Appointments | Guidance for participating in conferences, meetings, seminars, professional activities, and external appointments. |
| Federal Sponsor Disclosure Requirements | Guidance regarding federal sponsor requirements for disclosing research support, appointments, affiliations, activities, and other required information. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ORS need to review every publication or presentation?
No. Most publications and presentations do not require ORS review.
ORS review may be appropriate when a publication or presentation involves export-controlled information, certain government information, restrictions on publication or dissemination that may affect the fundamental research exclusion, or other research security requirements administered by ORS.
Does having an international coauthor require ORS review?
No. International coauthorship is a normal part of collaborative research and does not, by itself, require ORS review.
However, the underlying collaboration may be subject to sponsor disclosure, research security, export control, Restricted Entity Screening, or other requirements. Researchers should ensure that applicable requirements associated with the collaboration have been addressed.
What should I consider when identifying authors and contributors?
Authorship and contributor information should accurately reflect the individuals who contributed to the research and the nature of their contributions.
Researchers should follow applicable University, disciplinary, journal, and sponsor expectations for authorship and should discuss authorship expectations early in the research process and revisit them as contributions change.
Stony Brook University's Recommendations on Authorship provide guidance regarding authorship attribution, author responsibilities, inappropriate authorship practices, and resolution of authorship disputes.
UNIVERSITY RECOMMENDATIONS ON AUTHORSHIP
Why are affiliations, funding acknowledgments, and research collaborations important?
Publications and presentations may document authors, the institutions associated with the research, research collaborations, funding sources, and other research support.
An author's current institutional affiliation may not necessarily be the affiliation associated with the research being published. Researchers should accurately identify the institution or institutions where the research was conducted or supported, consistent with applicable journal, publisher, sponsor, and institutional requirements, and identify a different current affiliation separately when appropriate.
This information may also support sponsor reporting, disclosure reviews, research administration, and research security assessments. Researchers should therefore ensure that affiliations, collaborations, funding, and other research support are accurately represented and that applicable sponsor disclosure and reporting requirements have been addressed.
Can a sponsor or other organization review a publication before it is submitted?
Sponsor or third-party review may be permitted or required in some circumstances, such as review to identify proprietary or confidential information or to protect intellectual property rights.
However, requirements that give another party authority to approve publication, restrict dissemination, or limit participation may raise contractual, University policy, or export control considerations.
Researchers should follow the applicable award or agreement and work with the appropriate University office when institutional review or action is required. Contact ORS when publication or participation restrictions may affect the fundamental research exclusion or otherwise raise research security or export control concerns.
Can I include proprietary or confidential information received from a collaborator or sponsor?
Only when disclosure of the information is authorized under the applicable agreement or other requirements governing the information.
Information received from another organization does not become publicly releasable simply because it is used in University research or incorporated into a publication or presentation.
Researchers should confirm that proprietary, confidential, or otherwise restricted information is authorized for public disclosure before including it in a manuscript, abstract, poster, presentation, or other public research output.
Does fundamental research mean that everything associated with my project can be published?
No. The fundamental research exclusion generally relates to information resulting from qualifying fundamental research. It does not automatically make proprietary or confidential information received from another party, export-controlled technical information, government-controlled information, or other restricted information publicly releasable.
Publication, dissemination, access, or participation restrictions may also affect whether research qualifies for the fundamental research exclusion.
Can I publish or present government or export-controlled information?
It depends on the information and the requirements that apply.
Certain government or export-controlled information may be subject to restrictions on access, use, safeguarding, or dissemination. Researchers should not assume that information is authorized for public release merely because it is associated with a research project.
Contact ORS if you are uncertain whether government information or export control requirements restrict public disclosure.
What should I consider before presenting research at a conference?
Consider both the information included in the formal presentation and information that may be shared through demonstrations, discussions, question-and-answer sessions, or informal conversations.
Researchers should be particularly careful when an activity involves proprietary or confidential information, government or export-controlled information, restricted sessions, demonstrations of controlled technology, international travel, or other circumstances that may limit what can be shared.
Who should I contact about an authorship question or dispute?
Questions concerning authorship attribution or authorship disputes should follow Stony Brook University's Recommendations on Authorship and applicable academic or research integrity processes.
ORS does not adjudicate authorship disputes. ORS assists with research security, export control, research information protection, sponsor, and related requirements that may affect publication or presentation.
UNIVERSITY RECOMMENDATIONS ON AUTHORSHIP
Need Assistance?
Contact ORS if you are preparing to publish or present research and are uncertain whether sponsor, contractual, disclosure, research security, export control, information protection, or other requirements affect what may be publicly released.
ORS will help identify applicable requirements and coordinate with the appropriate University offices, as needed.