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NIH Public Access Policy Compliance

Guidelines for compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy

FAQs

I have questions about the NIH Public Access Policy. Where can I obtain more information?

See Public Access Frequently Asked Questions from NIH or send an e-mail to NIH.
 

What is PubMed Central?

PubMed Central (PMC) is the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) free, permanent digital archive of full-text biomedical and life sciences journal literature.
 

At what point should I be concerned about complying with the NIH Public Access Policy?

Authors own the original copyrights to materials they write and should work with the publisher before any rights are transferred to ensure that all conditions of the NIH Public Access Policy can be met. Authors should avoid signing any agreements with publishers that do not allow the author to comply with the NIH Public Access Policy and should be consistent with individual arrangements with the author's employing institution.
 

The journal that publishes my work routinely deposits its papers in PubMed Central.  Do I have to submit my paper myself?

See "Identification Wizard" on the Submission Methods page.
 

What is the difference between a final peer-reviewed manuscript and final published article?

Final peer-reviewed manuscript: The Investigator's final manuscript of a peer-reviewed paper accepted for journal publication, including all modifications from the peer review process.

Final published article: The journal’s authoritative copy of the paper, including all modifications from the publishing peer review process, copyediting and stylistic edits, and formatting changes.
 

My paper is based on research only partially funded by NIH. Is the paper required to be submitted?

The Policy applies to any manuscript that:

  • Is peer-reviewed;
  • And, is accepted for publication in a journal on or after April 7, 2008;
  • And, arises from:
    • Any direct funding1 from an NIH grant or cooperative agreement active in Fiscal Year 2008, 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.

Authors may submit final peer-reviewed manuscripts accepted before April 7, 2008 that arise from NIH funds, if they have appropriate copyright permission.

1"Directly" funded means costs that can be specifically identified with a particular project or activity. See Determine Applicability.
 

Do I need to submit articles that have already been published?

NIH Public Access Policy requires authors to submit peer-reviewed articles that have been accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008. Authors do not have to submit articles that published before this date. The policy applies to those who receive NIH funds after October 1, 2008.

Does the NIH Public Access Policy cover articles written in languages other than English?

Yes, the policy covers all peer-reviewed articles that arise from direct funding from NIH. This includes articles written in any language. However, NIH has limited capacity to handle different alphabets. Contact PublicAccess@mail.nih.gov when an article is accepted for publication and is written in a language other than English. Provide the journal title and the language in which the article is written.
(Q and A courtesy of the Carolina Population Center Library)
 

I have a PubMed number but not a PubMed Central number. What do I do?

See the PMID - PMCID - Manuscript ID - DOI Converter on Finding Article Identifiers.