Journals Library

External article publishing guide

It is important that when seeking publication of an article based on your report in another journal you adhere to the following:

  • You should not submit large items of identical work to the report you submit to us
  • You should inform any journal that your work will be published in the form of a single whole issue of the relevant journal within the NIHR Journals Library, including actual or expected publication date
  • You should inform the journal how the submitted paper differs from that submitted to the NIHR Journals Library. The Journals Library publications are intended to contain more comprehensive accounts of the research carried out
  • If your paper is accepted by another journal, the full and correct acknowledgements to both the funder and the programme journal must be provided (see the acknowledgements and disclaimers section) As well as being an NIHR requirement, this ensures full cross-reference and so will help prevent redundant publication as described above
  • If the journal is not concerned about the publication date of your NIHR journal issue and plans to publish after it, then reference should also be provided to the correct volume and issue number, if known (see the acknowledgements and disclaimers section)
  • If the journal will only publish your paper before the NIHR journal issue is published, please inform the NIHR Journals Library Editorial Office so that a more suitable publication date can be considered to allow for this. If the delay requested is substantial, approval will be needed from the editors and cannot be guaranteed. Your NIHR Journals Library report will progress through our editorial and production process as usual and if a delay to publication is agreed, your report will be placed on hold at the final stage of the publication process. For more information please see our Embargo policy
  • You should not assign exclusive rights to your research findings to any individual or organisation (as you have already assigned ownership to the Department of Health and Social Care in your contract). Please see the copyright section for further information