What is a Preprint?

What are Preprints?

Preprints are scholarly manuscripts that are made publicly available before peer review. Preprints are a method of making research publicly available quickly. They are generally free to post and free to read.

Why do authors post preprints?

There are several reasons why authors post preprints:

Rapid: Typically, authors post preprints before peer review and journal publication. Journal-based peer review can take 12 months, and journal article production can take additional weeks or months. Authors can therefore share their research quickly because preprints do not require peer review (some preprint platforms conduct brief quality checks on manuscripts). Rapid dissemination of research is especially important in fields where new research can have an immediate impact.

Visibility: Preprints can increase the visibility of research. Aggregators including Google Scholar, PubMed, Dimensions, and Web of Science index preprints from several preprint platforms. Posting preprints can increase social media attention and can increase citations.

Feedback: Authors of preprints can receive feedback on their work from community comments or by requesting journal-independent peer review from platforms such as PeerRef. Many preprint platforms allow versioning, so authors can improve and update their preprint based on feedback.

Open: Preprints are free to post and free to read. Preprints make research accessible to anyone with internet access.

Priority: Posting a preprint establishes a priority for a researcher's discoveries and ideas. This can be important in fields where innovation is rapid.

An alternative to a journal publication: Many funders recognise preprints and consider them in assessment processes. Therefore, authors can use a preprint as the final version of an article. This enables authors to get recognition for non-traditional research output such as negative results. Authors that do not require journal publication for their preprint can request peer review from platforms like PeerRef.

Which preprint server should authors use?

There are many preprint servers/platforms. Authors should use platforms that provide preprints with a digital object identifier (DOI) so the preprint can be cited. Some servers are subject-specific, such as bioRxiv (life and biomedical science) and ChemRxiv (chemistry). Other platforms, including Authorea, are for all fields of research. ASAPbio has a comprehensive list of preprint servers’ policies and practices: https://asapbio.org/preprint-servers

Will journals accept articles that were previously posted as preprints?

Most journals will accept articles that are posted as a preprint and many journals encourage authors to post preprints. Authors can search SHERPA/RoMEO to find out whether a specific journal supports preprinting.

Is the use of preprints growing?

The number of preprints posted rises each year. In 2022, researchers posted almost 500,000 preprints. This represents approximately 10% of scholarly publications. The growth of preprints should continue to rise as they offer unique benefits to researchers.

Did you know?

The first preprint server was arXiv. It was launched on the 14th of August 1991 by Paul Ginsparg. arXiv primarily hosts research in physics, mathematics, computer science, and related fields. It is the largest preprint server, hosting over 2 million preprints, 200,000 of which were posted in 2022.

Read other What is? blog posts on the PeerRef blog, including What is peer review?. Email elliott@peerref.com to suggest a What is_? blog post.