Benefits of Policy
Once posted to PubMed Central, results of NIH-funded research become more prominent, integrated and accessible, making it easier for all scientists to pursue NIH’s research priority areas competitively. PubMed Central materials are integrated with large NIH research data bases such as Genbank and PubChem, which helps accelerate scientific discovery. Clinicians, patients, educators, and students can better reap the benefits of papers arising from NIH funding by accessing them on PubMed Central at no charge. Finally, the Policy allows NIH to monitor, mine, and develop its portfolio of taxpayer funded research more effectively, and archive its results in perpetuity.
(from NIH Public Access Policy FAQ, emphasis added)
Scope of Policy
- Manuscripts must be made publicly available in PubMed Central no later than 12 months after publication.
- Policy applies to any manuscript written in the Latin alphabet that:
- Is peer-reviewed;
- And, is accepted for publication in a journal on or after April 7, 2008;
- And, arises from:
- Any direct funding from an NIH grant or cooperative agreement active in Fiscal Year 2008 or beyond, or;
- Any direct funding from an NIH contract signed on or after April 7, 2008, or;
- Any direct funding from the NIH Intramural Program, or;
- An NIH employee.
- NIH Public Access Policy Details
Compliance Options
Final Published Article
- Method A: Some journals automatically post NIH supported papers directly to PMC
- Method B: Authors must make special arrangements for some journals and publishers to post the paper directly to PMC
Final Peer-Reviewed Manuscript
- Method C: Authors or their designee must submit manuscripts to the NIHMS
- Method D: Some publishers will submit manuscripts to the NIHMS
Follow the links above to determine if your journal or publisher participates in these programs. If it does not, submit using Method C.
Approval
In Methods A and B, the publisher approves the submission and the PMC web version. In Methods C and D, the author or a delegate must do this via NIHMS.
Timing
In Methods C and D, the paper must be submitted to NIHMS upon acceptance for publication.
Responsibility
Regardless of method, the NIH awardee is responsible for ensuring compliance for all articles covered by the policy arising from the award.
Method A Best Practices
- Notify publisher that the article is covered by NIH Public Access Policy and enter citation into My Bibliography (in My NCBI). Suggest paper to collaborators and PI(s) so they can track it too.
- My Bibliography should automatically add link when paper is published.
- Include the PMCID in citations when reporting to NIH.
Method B Best Practices
Initiate Method B by requesting that publisher post paper directly. Then follow the steps below.
- Enter the citation into My Bibliography (in My NCBI), identifying it as Method B. Suggest paper to collaborators and PI(s) so they can track it too.
- My Bibliography should automatically add link when paper is published. If it does not show up with a PMCID within 3 months of publication, contact your publisher to ensure it will deposit as soon as possible.
- Include the PMCID in citations when reporting to NIH.
Methods C and D Best Practices
- Enter citation into My NCBI and ensure that manuscript is submitted to NIHMS (by publisher if Method D).
- Author approves submission, links to awards, and approves PMC web version. This is required for the submission to receive a PMCID, which must happen within 90 days of official date of publication in order to be compliant. My Bibliography should automatically add link when paper is published.
- Include the PMCID in citations when reporting to NIH.
Copyright and Open Access
- Penn State researchers control the copyright in their scholarly articles. Researchers sometimes transfer copyright during the publication process.
- The NIH Public Access Policy is a Term and Condition of Award.
- Researchers whose articles fall within the scope of the NIH Public Access Policy can ensure they will have the right to post those articles by reviewing their publishing agreements before signing them.
Publishing Agreements
- It is not necessary to publish on an open access basis in order to comply with the policy.
- Most publishing agreements in the health sciences are now designed to be compatible with the NIH policy. Nonetheless, please check your agreement before signing it.
- Should your agreement require modification, NIH has provided the following example language:
Journal acknowledges that Author retains the right to provide a copy of the final peer-reviewed manuscript to the NIH upon acceptance for Journal publication, for public archiving in PubMed Central as soon as possible but no later than 12 months after publication by Journal.
- If you think you have signed a contract that prevents you from posting your accepted manuscript, contact Ana at enriquez@psu.edu.
Article Processing Charges (APCs)
- Some open access publishing requires payment of an APC.
- Paying an APC is not necessary to comply with the NIH policy.
- You can use NIH grant funds to cover publication costs if:
- such costs incurred are actual, allowable, and reasonable to advance the objectives of the award;
- costs are charged consistently regardless of the source of support; and
- all other applicable rules on allowability of costs are met.
- Be aware of hybrid journals.
Data Sharing and Research Data Management Support at PSU
- Data sharing is another component of public access. At NIH, investigator-initiated applications with direct costs of $500,000 or more in any single year must address data-sharing in their application. This is also required for some other opportunities.
- Penn State offers a variety of Research Data Management Services.
- Contact the Penn State Research Data Management Team to request a consultation.
Workshops on the NIH Public Access Policy
- The Libraries offer trainings on the NIH Public Access Policy for the Penn State community. Contact us to request a training for your college, department, or lab.
- If you are offering a training of your own, please feel free to draw upon our training slide deck, which is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 International License.
- The October 2020 session was recorded and can be viewed below.