The NIH is eager to promote the use of preprints to researchers, and as such they are allowing preprint citation in all NIH reporting forms where standard published works may be cited. The NIH is additionally promoting the wholesale adoption of depositing IRPs with preprint servers. However, to ensure that products generated through NIH funds meet certain standards, they require adherence to regulations regarding 1) level public availability and licensing, and 2) acknowledgement of pre-publication status and funding source.
Interim research products can be cited anywhere other research products are cited. This includes all of the following NIH forms:
• R&R Other Project Information Form, Bibliography & References Cited
• R&R Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form, Biographical Sketch
• PHS 398 Research Plan, Progress Report Publication List
• PHS 398 Career Development Award Supplemental Form, Progress Report Publication List
• PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form, Progress Report Publication List
• RPPR, section C - Products
If you plan to deposit Interim Research Products that are generated as a result of NIH funds, the NIH requires certain minimum acknowledgements and levels of public license. These requirements are explained as follows:
NIH intends to maximize impact of interim research products that are developed with NIH funds. Therefore, NIH expects awardees to ensure a high level of public access to NIH supported interim products. To facilitate text mining and other analysis of these products as data, the NIH expects standardized terms of use. NIH also expects awardees will adhere to other norms of responsible scientific communication.
Specifically, to claim an interim research product as a product of an NIH award, the NIH expects that the awardee will:
- Make the product publicly available. To maximize the impact of an interim research product, the NIH strongly encourages awardees to select a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license or dedicate their work to the public domain.
- In the text of the document:
- Acknowledge NIH funding in accordance with NIH Grants Policy Statement Chapter 8.2.1
- Clearly state that the work is not peer-reviewed
- Declare any competing interests, as an author would do for any journal article
For applications submitted for the May 25, 2017 due date and thereafter, awardees can claim these products on their progress report publication list. They can also report them on their RPPR as of May 25, 2017, and link them to their award in their My Bibliography account.
source (Reporting Preprints and Other Interim Research Products)
If you are having trouble attaching your preprints to your My Bibliography please contact the author of this guide for additional assistance.
Creative Commons is a set of free copyright licenses that provide copyright holders with an alternative to the "All Rights Reserved" default copyright license. In effect, it is a "Some Rights Reserved" format of license, which allows licensees enumerated rights in simple-to-read single-page explanations.
More on Creative Commons:
