NIH Public Access Policy: Frequently Asked Questions

As of April 7, 2008, NIH will require submission into PubMed Central (PMC) of manuscripts, if accepted for publication, which report research that is funded in whole or in part by the NIH. Authors publishing in The Journal of Immunology (The JI) may find answers to their questions below. If you still have questions regarding publishing in The JI, please contact infoji{at}aai.org.

1. My research is funded by the NIH. Can I publish in The JI?

Yes. NIH-funded authors whose manuscripts are accepted for publication in The JI may submit the author version of their accepted manuscript to PMC. To do so, go to http://www.nihms.nih.gov and follow the instructions. Authors MUST choose 12 months when prompted to select the Delay Period (also called the Embargo Period); that is, where the PubMed submission site reads: "Release to PubMed Central 12 months after publication in the journal".

2. The JI is not listed on the NIH website as one of the journals that deposits into PMC. Can I still publish in The JI?

Yes, you can publish in The JI. The NIH Public Access Policy does not require the publisher (journals) to deposit manuscripts into PMC. The author may deposit an accepted manuscript directly. Click here for more information.

3. The full text of articles published in The JI are under subscription control for 12 months after publication, and then are free to the public (abstracts are free to the public at all times). I have been told that, as an NIH-funded investigator, I can only publish in journals that are under subscription control for 6 months or less. Is that true?

No. A 12-month delay period satisfies the NIH policy. Click here for more information.

4. What is the difference between PubMed and PubMed Central (PMC)?

PubMed is an online database of biomedical journal citations and abstracts that links citations to full-text articles in the journals in which the articles are published. PubMed is used everyday by scientists for research and linking to journal articles. The JI submits all of its citation information to PubMed just prior to, or at the time of, publication. The April 7, 2008 NIH Public Access Policy will not affect your ability to use or access articles through PubMed.

PubMed Central is a relatively new electronic archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature. NIH requires authors who are funded in whole or in part by the NIH to deposit into PubMed Central a file of a manuscript accepted for publication. As such, PubMed Central is a partial record of scientific reporting; for example, approximately 50% of articles published in The JI are not funded by NIH and are not governed by the NIH Public Access Policy. At this time there are over 500,000 articles in PMC compared with almost 2 million free peer reviewed articles from over 130 scholarly publishers in HighWire Press, an electronic archive used by The JI.

For instructions on how to obtain an article's PMCID number to submit with NIH grant applications, click here.

5. What is the AAI policy for authors publishing in The JI?

AAI will grant a limited one-time waiver permitting authors to deposit into PubMed Central a manuscript accepted for publication on or after May 2, 2005, provided that the corresponding author:

instructs the NIH to release the manuscript to the public no sooner than 12 months after final publication in The JI;
agrees that this one-time waiver applies solely to deposition into PubMed Central and does not extend to any other repository, agency, or entity*; and
agrees to and includes in the text of the abstract of the manuscript submitted to PMC the following disclaimer:
"This is an author-produced version of a manuscript accepted for publication in The Journal of Immunology (The JI). The American Association of Immunologists, Inc. (AAI), publisher of The JI, holds the copyright to this manuscript. This version of the manuscript has not yet been copyedited or subjected to editorial proofreading by The JI; hence, it may differ from the final version published in The JI (online and in print). AAI (The JI) is not liable for errors or omissions in this author-produced version of the manuscript or in any version derived from it by the U.S. National Institutes of Health or any other third party. The final, citable version of record can be found at www.jimmunol.org."

* Corresponding authors publishing in The JI sign a copyright transfer agreement to The American Association of Immunologists, Inc. (AAI), which prohibits them and all coauthors from transferring versions of accepted manuscripts to a third party.