Dear Dr. Di Sauro,

I've personnaly had a similar experience where I worked with a private research institute and my affiliation was that of the institure, not my university. I've also worked with research groups in other universities and depending on my level of involvement with the groups my affiliation was at times that of the other university's research group instead of my own. My personal experience has been that as long as the people in a research commitee or institute are okay with you using thier affiliation and have given you permission, you should be okay.

As for not using your university affiliation, you are not beholden to the university and can conduct research outside of thier jurisdiction. However, using a university affiliation instead of an indepedant one may have an affect on the handling editors attitude to the paper, as well as peer reviewers. Some journals may also outright reject independant researchers and you should consult submission guidelines. I would suggest using both your university affiliation, as well as the independant affiliation, as most journals allow for 2 affiliations.

Also, if you are using a university affiliation with a specific department or research group in mind, you have to ask them for permission.

Dear Dr. Rajai thank you so much for taking the time into answering this! Your answer was very explicative and I will certainly do as you recommend. Thank you again!

Hello, I'm not totally sure, but if you are reviewing others publications then doing a statistical analysis on these already published papers it is your own work. It is not like you are handing individual patient data/ needing ethics.