What do I need to submit?
The American Heart Association has two Open Science Policies: public access and open data.
The AHA’s public access policy requires that all journal articles resulting from AHA funding be made freely available in PubMed Central (PMC) and attributed to a specific AHA award within 12 months of publication. It is the responsibility of the awardee to ensure journal articles are deposited into PMC and that all necessary rights are retained in order to do so.
The AHA’s open data policy requires certain applicants to include a data sharing plan with the application. Any factual data that is needed for independent verification of research results must be made freely and publicly available in an AHA-approved repository within 12 months of the end of the funding period (and any no-cost extension). Some early career programs are exempt from this policy.
Do I have the rights?
Authors own the original copyright to materials they write. Consistent with individual arrangements with authors' employing institutions, authors often transfer some or all of these rights to the publisher when the journal agrees to publish their paper. Some publishers may ask authors to transfer these rights when the paper is first submitted to the journal.
Authors should work with the publisher before any rights are transferred to ensure that all conditions of the AHA Open Science Policy can be met. Authors should avoid signing any agreements with publishers that do not allow the author to comply with the AHA Open Science Policy. If the publisher agreement does not provide for your right to make the article publicly available in PubMed Central no later than 12 months after the official date of publication, you will need to adapt it. See the Open Science FAQ for language to include in the agreement before returning it to the publisher.
Where do I submit my articles and data?
The AHA has adopted the procedures established by the Health Research Alliance (HRA) which enable awardees to deposit publications directly into PMC. The HRA Open portal also can facilitate the deposit of open data into Figshare, which is an AHA-approved generalist repository.
When do I need to submit?
Journal articles must be submitted to PMC within 12 months of publication.
Data should be made publicly available as soon as possible. All pertinent data must be made freely and publicly available within 12 months of the end of the funding period (and any no-cost extension) in an AHA approved repository.
How do I submit?
Follow the instructions provided in the HRA Open Guide for Awardees.