As the pandemic continues, so does the need to review research that has been publicized before it’s been peer-reviewed. Study retractions are not often well-publicized.  Retraction Watch has been tracking retractions of papers about COVID-19 as part of its database. We’ve added a link to this resource in our COVID-19 guide.   Retraction Watch tracks retractions throughout the scientific community. See their database and user guide for more information.

If you discover that one of your publications lacks a PMCID, it’s possible that it is stalled somewhere in the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS). Here are some steps you can follow to resolve these types of NIH Public Access Policy compliance issues.

1) Breathe!
2)Sign on to the NIHMS with your eRA Commons or Einstein AD credentials.
3)Search for the manuscript using its PMID
4)Verify that steps 1, 2, and 3 have been completed.
-If you are not listed as the designated Reviewer, and you are a co-author of the paper or the PI of the related reward, you can email NIHMS at  nihms-help@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov and request to be added as the Reviewer.
-If step 1 has not yet been completed, check with your publisher to find their policy for NIHMS submission. Click here for a list of publisher policies.
5)Make sure you respond to all emails from NIHMS as quickly as possible.

The best time to work on getting a PMCID for your papers is at the time they are accepted for publication. Consider it part of the publishing process, You’re dealing with manuscript files and copyright/publishing agreements, anyway.

Even though this seems like a lot of extra work, remember that including your publications in PMC will benefit you in the long run. Your publications will be discoverable worldwide, increasing your research impact. Publications available via open access or public access tend to have increased citation counts (which will give your H-index a boost)!

For more information on the NIH Public Access Policy, NIHMS, and PMCIDs, visit our Research Guide.