Notice Number: NOT-OD-18-011
Key Dates
Release Date: November 3, 2017
Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Purpose
To protect the credibility of published research, authors are encouraged to publish papers arising from NIH-funded research in reputable journals.
Background
Effective communication of scientific results is an essential part of the scientific process. In support of public access to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research, authors are encouraged to publish their results in reputable journals. The NIH has noted an increase in the numbers of papers reported as products of NIH funding which are published in journals or by publishers that do not follow best practices promoted by professional scholarly publishing organizations. These journals and publishers typically can be identified by several attributes, including:
Publications using such practices may call into question the credibility of the research they report.
Recommendations to identify credible journals
To help protect the credibility of papers arising from its research investment, NIH encourages its stakeholders, including grantees, contractors, intramural researchers, and librarians, to help authors:
Existing resources can assist in this process. Guidance for researchers include:
Think Check Submit, a publishing industry resource; and
“Academics and scientists: Beware of predatory journal publishers,” information from the Federal Trade Commission.
The National Library of Medicine, the NIH entity that maintains PubMed and PubMed Central, encourages publishers to follow established industry best practices including:
Inquiries
Please direct all inquiries to:
Office of Extramural Research
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://publicaccess.nih.gov