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How to Deposit an Article in PubMed Central

There are four methods to deposit an article to PubMed Central in compliance with the Autism Speaks Policy on Public Access to Published Research.

Authors should determine which method they will employ before submitting the manuscript to a journal or signing a publication agreement so that they know whether steps must be taken to reserve the necessary rights. If using Method B, C, or D, the author must reserve the necessary rights via the publishing agreement s/he enters into with the publisher. See "Reserve the Necessary Rights in Your Publishing Agreement" for guidance on how to go about this, including sample language.

Authors may use whichever of the methods below is most appropriate for them and consistent with their publishing agreement:

Method A: Publish in a journal that deposits all final published articles in PubMed Central without author involvement.

Some journals automatically deposit all Autism Speaks-funded final published articles in PubMed Central, to be made publicly available within 12 months of publication, without author involvement. See the list of these journals here.
Method B: Make arrangements to have the publisher deposit a specific final published article in PubMed Central.

Some publishers will deposit an individual final published article in PubMed Central upon author request, generally for a fee. While grantees may use such services, Autism Speaks does not currently permit its grant funds to be used for such payments.
Method C: Deposit the final peer-reviewed manuscript in PubMed Central yourself via the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS).

Submitting a final peer-reviewed manuscript to PubMed Central via the NIHMS involves three tasks, as explained below. Task 1 may be done by an author or by someone in the author's organization (e.g., an assistant or a librarian). Tasks 2 and 3 must by done by the author.

Task 1: Deposit Manuscript Files and Link to Autism Speaks Funding

Upload a copy of the accepted final peer-reviewed manuscript and associated files (e.g., Microsoft Word document and figures) via the NIHMS. At the same time, identify the Autism Speaks funding associated with the manuscript. It usually takes less than 10 minutes to complete this task.

Task 2: Authorize NIH to Process the Manuscript

The author designates the number of months after publication when the manuscript may be made publicly available in PubMed Central. The author then signs off, via the NIHMS, on a statement that confirms that the deposit of the manuscript is consistent with any publication and copyright agreements, and that NIH may begin processing the manuscript for use in PubMed Central.

Task 3: Approve the PubMed Central-formatted Manuscript for Public Display

The NIHMS will convert the deposited files into a standard PubMed Central format, and email the author to approve the PubMed Central-formatted manuscript for public display. The author reviews and approves the PubMed Central-formatted manuscript via the NIHMS. Corrections to the manuscript, if necessary, may be requested at this time.

Following completion of task 3, PubMed Central will automatically make the paper publicly available after the designated delay period has expired.
Notes:
- Tasks 1 and 2 can be done at the same time, if the person performing them is an author of the manuscript.
- Tasks 2 and 3 may be done only by an author who logs into the NIHMS with an eRA Commons account.
- In many cases, the author who completes tasks 2 and 3 will be the Principal Investigator (PI) on the associated Autism Speaks grant. When the author is not the PI, the NIHMS will notify the PI that a manuscript has been linked to the Autism Speaks grant, upon completion of Task 2.
- The NIHMS offers extensive online instructions.
Method D: Complete the submission process for a final peer-reviewed manuscript that the publisher has deposited in the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS).

In a variation of Method C, some publishers deposit the manuscript files in the NIHMS for an author and designate the number of months after publication when the paper may be made publicly available in PubMed Central.

The NIHMS will notify the author when the manuscript files are received from the publisher. At that point, the author must complete all of the tasks outlined for Method C, except for the file deposit part of Task 1 above.

Voluntary Deposit

Autism Speaks strongly encourages authors to deposit in PubMed Central articles arising from grants awarded before this policy takes effect. If you have not yet submitted an article for publication, the deposit options described above will guide you. If the article has already been submitted or published, consult the publication agreement or contact the publisher to determine whether PubMed Central deposit is permissible. It is important to ensure that the publication agreement is not breached.

Links:

Policy on Public Access to Published Research
How to Deposit an Article in PubMed Central
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
Journals that Deposit Articles in PubMed Central in Compliance with Autism Speaks Policy
Reserve the Necessary Rights
How to Acknowledge Autism Speaks Funding (Forthcoming)
NIH eRA Commons Account Setup
NIH Manuscript Submission System
PubMed Central
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