National Children’s Study Publications
Many research journals have published articles about the National Children’s Study. A customized search for these publications is available through the National Library of Medicine PubMed Search.*
*The articles on PubMed are provided as a courtesy and not as an official record with the understanding that they have not been endorsed by the federal government and may contain inaccuracies and misstatements.
Publications Committee
Philosophy of the National Children’s Study Publications Committee
The National Children’s Study encourages publication and presentation of Study results throughout all stages of Study progress. A Publications Committee was established to oversee the identification, prioritizing, writing, and review of primary Study publications (publications based on analysis of centrally collected Vanguard or Main Study data across Study Centers).
The Publications Committee will not formally review publications based on public use data, single Center (“local”) data, formative research, supplemental methodological studies, adjunct studies, or manuscripts based upon non-public use data for which a Data Use Agreement has been approved. However, publications and presentations must still be submitted for disclosure review per the Data Use Agreement.
The National Children’s Study Program Office recognizes that the Study’s approach to publication of data may result in duplicate or even contradictory analyses. Such analyses are welcome and are viewed as a mechanism to optimize the value and evaluation of National Children’s Study datasets.
Publications Committee
The Publications Committee will identify topics, set priorities, and facilitate the preparation of primary Study publications (as defined above). The Committee will define the general scope and content of primary publications and assemble Writing Teams to prepare those publications. The Committee will define the charge of these Teams, monitor their progress, and review the manuscripts to ensure adherence to the charge given to the Teams, before the manuscript is submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Organizationally, the Publications Committee is under the National Children’s Study Program Office. The Committee consists of 2 co-chairs (one from the Program Office and one from a Study Center); approximately 10 to 14 standing members from the Study Centers and ad hoc members as needed; and standing and ad hoc members from the Program Office.
Standing and ad hoc members from the Study Centers have expertise in a variety of scientific areas, such as biostatistics, clinical science (pediatrics, obstetrics, etc.), environmental science, psychosocial science, epidemiology, bioethics, study design and methodology, as well as field experience in implementing the National Children’s Study.
Writing Teams
The Publications Committee will assemble Writing Teams to prepare the manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The size of a given Writing Team will be determined by the Publications Committee for each specific manuscript, and is expected to be generally between 5 and 10 members. The Publications Committee co-chairs will invite qualified individuals to serve on a named Writing Team. Individuals can self-refer or nominate others to serve on a Writing Team.
Writing Team members may come from Study Centers, the Program Office, other federal agencies, independent investigators, or others with appropriate expertise and Study involvement. Effort expended on Writing Teams is voluntary.
Acknowledgements and Disclaimers for National Children’s Study-Related Publications
All manuscripts pertaining to the National Children’s Study, whether written by investigators at Study contract organizations or by federal employees, whether primary publications, or those pertaining to approved supplemental methodological studies (Vanguard phase), adjunct studies (Main Study), or otherwise using restricted-use Study data (whether core data collected centrally or local data), are required to contain appropriate acknowledgements and disclaimers similar to those below.
- “This analysis was conducted as part of the National Children’s Study, supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and funded, through its appropriation, by the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health.”
- “Supported in part by NICHD Contract(s) No(s). _______________.” (Insert contract numbers as appropriate for Study Center[s], Repository, specific laboratories, or other contracts.)
“Supported in part by NIH Grant No. ___________________.” (Insert grant number or other grant identification if the activity reported upon was supported by any grant funding.)
- For primary Study publications: “This manuscript was developed by a Writing Team identified by the National Children’s Study Publications Committee for the purpose of timely sharing of centrally collected Study data. It is thus considered a primary National Children’s Study publication. The opinions offered and conclusions drawn are those of the Writing Team members and do not necessarily reflect official views of the National Children’s Study, the National Institutes of Health, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”
- For publications other than primary Study publications: “The views expressed in this article are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the National Children’s Study, the National Institutes of Health, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”
- Note: The above are simply examples of acknowledgments and disclaimers which may be selected or modified.
Disclosure Review
All restricted-use data intended for publication (as a manuscript or abstract) or for presentation, must be provided to the National Children’s Study Confidentiality Officer for disclosure review before release to persons not party to an approved Study Data Use Agreement, including the general public (contact NCSDataAccess@nih.gov).
Restricted-use data are data with known disclosure risk. They are generally meant for analytical and methodological study use. All data users, their Principal Investigators, and institutions seeking access to restricted-use data must establish appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the confidentiality of the data and prevent unauthorized use or access.
Cataloging Study-Related Publications
The Program Office will maintain, in a central database, a complete bibliography of all Study-related peer-reviewed publications. Reviews, abstracts, and presentations will not be included in this bibliography.
Although there is no requirement for formal review of certain types of Study-related publications (for example, from public use data sets, local data from a single Study Center, formative research projects, supplemental methodological studies, or adjunct studies), the Program Office expects anyone who received National Children’s Study funding or used the Study as a data acquisition platform to notify the Program Office of all peer reviewed Study-related publications at the time of publication. Send an e-mail to NCS@mail.nih.gov ATTN: Publications Bibliography with the following information: name(s) of all authors; title of the article; name of journal or other venue; and the date, volume, and inclusive page numbers of the published article.
For Further Information About Publications
For further information regarding National Children’s Study Publications, please send an e-mail to NCSPubs@mail.nih.gov.