Hyperlinks may be provided in NIH applications only if they are requested in the relevant funding opportunity announcement or application guide. Typically, hyperlinks are provided only in the following sections:
-
Bibliography & References Cited attachment.
-
Progress Report Publication List attachment for renewal applications.
-
Biosketch Section C: Contributions to Science. In this section, you may provide a hyperlink to a full list of your published work on a Federal Government website (e.g., My Bibliography).
Hyperlinks should not be provided in other sections of the application. There are three reasons for this. First, prohibiting hyperlinks in a page-limited section of an application, such as the Specific Aims section or the Research Strategy section, ensures that all applicants have the same amount of space in which to make their case for funding. Second, if a reviewer were to click on a hyperlink in an application, the reviewer’s anonymity could be compromised. Third, clicking on a hyperlink could expose the reviewer to a virus or malware.
When a hyperlink is allowed, the NIH asks that it be presented in the form of a URL (web page address), not in the form of a word or phrase pointing to a URL:
Incorrect: Complete List of Published Work in My Bibliography [Here, clicking on the “Complete List” hyperlink takes the reader to the web page where the list appears.]
Correct: Complete List of Published Work in My Bibliography: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/collections/public/1tas56x
[Here, the hyperlink text is the URL for the web page where the list appears.]
Read more of The Write Stuff
