Frequently Asked Questions
Who has access to MedEdPORTAL? [Top of Page] MedEdPORTAL is available for free to the general public around the globe. Anyone can access and download resources published in MedEdPORTAL. Currently, the primary audience of MedEdPORTAL includes:
Anyone can submit resources for free to MedEdPORTAL for peer review and publication. Is there a fee for users from other countries? [Top of Page] No, MedEdPORTAL is open and available to users around the world for free. Does the AAMC ever plan to charge for access to MedEdPORTAL? [Top of Page] No How does the AAMC cover the costs to operate MedEdPORTAL? [Top of Page] MedEdPORTAL is a service provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in partnership with the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) in support of our medical and dental education constituents. MedEdPORTAL is funded primarily by the AAMC with partial funding provided by ADEA and is part of both organizations' overall operating budgets. The AAMC and ADEA are committed to ensuring that MedEdPORTAL will always be a free service available to health educators and learners around the world. Is publishing in MedEdPORTAL similar to publishing in a journal? [Top of Page] From its conception MedEdPORTAL was designed to serve as a prestigious publishing venue through which educators may disseminate their educational works. Structured like a traditional print-based journal, MedEdPORTAL:
An educational resource successfully peer-reviewed and published through MedEdPORTAL is considered a publication and is comparable to a peer-reviewed research paper published through a reputable print-based journal. Authors who publish through MedEdPORTAL benefit from the AAMC's authority and credibility, and have access to an audience drawn from its broad membership. Publications in MedEdPORTAL are considered compelling scholarly contributions suitable for use to support promotion and tenure decisions. For more information regarding MedEdPORTAL and educational scholarship, review the MedEdPORTAL Educational Scholarship Guides. Does MedEdPORTAL accept Web-based submissions? [Top of Page] In May 2009 MedEdPORTAL realigned its policies and procedures for the packaging of Web-based submitted content (Web-based Resources). MedEdPORTAL only accepts Web-based submissions that can be packaged in a format that can be hosted on or disseminated through the MedEdPORTAL Web site. The rationale for this change in policy is based upon a necessity to maintain the integrity of each peer-reviewed publication. In addition, MedEdPORTAL ensures that all content within its repository will always be available through MedEdPORTAL for free even if the author or institution removes or shuts down the submitted Web-based Resource or decides to charge a fee for access to the Web-based Resource at a later date or time. Web-based Resources will only be accepted under one of four conditions. Please read the MedEdPORTAL Submission Policy for Web-based Resources for more information. Can students submit materials to MedEdPORTAL? [Top of Page] Yes, medical and dental students and educators from around the world at any level of their educational career may submit educational resources to MedEdPORTAL for peer review and consideration for publication. Students and educators may submit resources even if they are not associated with accredited teaching institutions. However, all submitted resources are subjected to the same rigorous peer review process and must meet MedEdPORTAL's established criteria before they are eligible for publication in MedEdPORTAL. Does MedEdPORTAL publish materials in foreign languages? [Top of Page] At this time, all resources peer reviewed and published in MedEdPORTAL must be submitted in English. However, if an author has a resource in a foreign language that he/she would like to submit to MedEdPORTAL, we encourage him or her to partner with an English speaking colleague to create an English version of the resource for submission to MedEdPORTAL. If the English version passes peer-review then both the English and foreign language versions will be published and available for download from MedEdPORTAL. Who owns the intellectual property of materials published in MedEdPORTAL? [Top of Page] Authors of all submissions that are published in MedEdPORTAL maintain the original ownership. MedEdPORTAL does not pursue ownership of any materials it receives or publishes. Please visit the MedEdPORTAL Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy webpage for more information. May published authors remove their publications at any time? [Top of Page] No, once a resource is published in MedEdPORTAL it will always be searchable and available to the general public for free indefinitely. Can an author revise his or her publication? [Top of Page] If a resource has already been published in MedEdPORTAL and the author would like to revise or update his/her published resource, we encourage him or her to contact MedEdPORTAL staff to discuss the various options. Typically, if the changes are merely cosmetic and do not impact the content of the resource, then MedEdPORTAL staff will simply replace the published resource with the revised version. If the update significantly impacts the content of the resource (e.g. adding additional content or taking away content from the resource), then we will encourage the author to submit the revised resource as a new submission to MedEdPORTAL but to identify it as a second version. The second version must undergo the formal peer review process. If published, the second version of the resource will be identified as publication version 2. The original publication will not be removed from MedEdPORTAL but will reference the most recent version published in MedEdPORTAL. What if a published resource is inaccurate, obsolete, or irrelevant? [Top of Page] Due to MedEdPORTAL being modeled after a traditional journal publication, once a resource is published in MedEdPORTAL it will always be available and searchable through the MedEdPORTAL website even if it is deemed inaccurate, obsolete, or irrelevant. However, all time-sensitive resources are identified as such during the submission and peer review process. Three to five years after publication, any time-sensitive resource is flagged and identified as inaccurate, obsolete or irrelevant on the MedEdPORTAL website. An author of an expired resource will be encouraged to update his/her content and submit a revised version which will go through the formal peer review process. If the revised version passes the peer review process and is successfully published in MedEdPORTAL, then the first version will reference the most current publication. How does MedEdPORTAL protect published assessment materials? [Top of Page] Even though all published MedEdPORTAL resources are free and available to the general public, assessment resources or resources authors do not want students to access are guarded behind a human firewall. MedEdPORTAL staff only distributes such protected resources to users after verifying their identity and confirming they are educators at a health education institution. Are MedEdPORTAL publications cited in PubMed or Medline? [Top of Page] As MedEdPORTAL publications are completely different from typical print-based research journal publications, MedEdPORTAL publications are not currently indexed in PubMed (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) or Medline (medline.cos.com). However, the AAMC, ADEA, and MedEdPORTAL leadership are currently exploring options with the long-term goal of indexing MedEdPORTAL publications in both PubMed and Medline and other health related journal indexing services. When can I use the MedEdPORTAL Peer Reviewed logo? [Top of Page] The MedEdPORTAL Peer Reviewed Logo is considered a special mark of distinction that is recognized in the academic health community as an indicator of quality. Successfully published MedEdPORTAL resources that are hosted externally (not hosted on MedEdPORTAL servers) are required to display the MedEdPORTAL peer reviewed logo on the external website notifying users that the resource was successfully peer reviewed and published through MedEdPORTAL. In addition, the authors must display next to the logo the formal MedEdPORTAL publication citation with the direct link to the publication abstract page in MedEdPORTAL. Additional information is available on the Publication Instructions page. | Links |