Faculty experiences with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) public access policy, compliance issues, and copyright practices

Abstract

Objectives: The research assessed faculty awareness of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) public access policy and faculty experiences with the copyright terms in their author agreements with publishers. Methods: During the fall of 2011, 198 faculty members receiving funding from NIH at a large urban academic institution were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey. A total of 94 faculty members responded to the survey, representing a response rate of 47%. Results: Thirty percent of the survey respondents were either unaware of or not familiar with the NIH policy. Further, a significant number of faculty members (97.8%) indicated that they usually signed their copyright forms "as is." The findings show that time, confusing instructions, and unclear journal policies are challenges experienced by NIH-funded faculty in complying with the federal mandate. Conclusion: There is a need to educate faculty with respect to the value of retaining their copyrights and self-archiving their publications to help advance public access and open access scholarship.