How preprints can make research more discoverable

Preprints, or research papers that have not yet been peer reviewed, have gained increasing prominence in scholarly publishing over the last few years as they are posted on sites such as ChemRxiv(opens in new tab/window), bioRxiv(opens in new tab/window) and Elsevier-owned SSRN(opens in new tab/window). Their use has been a longstanding practice in some fields. In mathematics and physics, for example, almost all scientific papers are self-archived(opens in new tab/window) on the arXiv(opens in new tab/window) repository before publication in a peer-reviewed journal. In other disciplines, however, their use and the enthusiasm for them is still very much in the development phase.

Nonetheless, in an increasingly open-access driven world, a number of societies are considering the role preprints should play in their own communities.

For authors, there are a number of positives associated with posting a preprint. For example:

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  The paper is discoverable earlier in the publication process.

  Often, the time lag between submission and publication in a scholarly journal can be months (or longer). A preprint option gives authors the ability to quickly get their work-in-progress in front of the community in advance of the official version-of-record that has been fully vetted and peer reviewed. In the age of the Internet, where information spreads quickly, researchers gain an effective way to share their early-stage research. Preprints on most servers are assigned a digital object identifier (digital currency for a publication) and are thus fully citable (including in US National Institutes of Health and Wellcome Trust grant applications(opens in new tab/window)), establishing priorities of discoveries as needed. What’s more, preprints are also archived, ensuring they are made permanently available.

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  They give authors the ability to solicit and receive feedback.

  Sharing researchers’ early work on a preprint server also gives authors the ability to publicly solicit and receive feedback on their findings, further scientific dialogue, and implement potential paper enhancements. Of course, it’s not a one-way street: for preprint servers that host public commenting, there is a public and transparent review of the preprint as well as responses to the critiques themselves.

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  They may increase citations.

  Although not always easy to quantify, some studies show that posting a paper on a preprint server improves both its citations and altmetrics numbers(opens in new tab/window).

Despite these benefits, there are some who question the value of preprints and have raised concerns that they can have a negative impact on scientific discourse if not managed carefully and with relevant disclaimers noting the preliminary nature of the research. This has come to light recently in the form of Covid-19 preprints that have the potential to be misinterpreted as having been fully peer reviewed and vetted. In the interest of transparency, reputable preprint servers, including SSRN, indicate prominently that these papers are preliminary reports that have not yet been peer reviewed.

First Look allows societies and journals to host their own preprints on SSRN

While many well-known preprint servers are multidisciplinary and journal agnostic, in recent years, societies have begun to host preprint servers specifically for their own journal communities. Elsevier’s First Look(opens in new tab/window) feature allows societies and journals to host preprint material on a dedicated society-branded site prior to the content being considered for publication in their official journal publication — something the American College of Cardiology(opens in new tab/window) and Acta Materialia, Inc(opens in new tab/window) have done for selected journals. Moreover, First Look features a branded homepage where societies can display their logo, a short description of the applicable journals and their mission statement. Abstract pages are also branded with the society’s logo, such as this page for JACC: Electrophysiology(opens in new tab/window).

Each preprint server also has a personalized dashboard so a society can track basic usage, and each paper posted to First Look gets its own PlumX Analytics(opens in new tab/window) page, which provides metrics on usage and citations, incuding those linked to social media engagement and news mentions. Those who want to follow their society’s preprint content streams can subscribe to get email alerts when new material is posted.

There are two routes to setting up content streams on a First Look preprint server, depending on the needs of your community:

1. Preprint publication at submission

2. Preprint publication when a paper goes out for peer review.

Preprints with The Lancet(opens in new tab/window) is an example of the former; authors can opt to post their paper on the First Look site at submission, after a standard check for scope suitability. Cell Press’s Sneak Peek site(opens in new tab/window) is a version of the latter; authors can opt in to publish their work on the SSRN server when their papers are first sent for peer review.

To learn more about First Look and whether it might be a good fit for your journal or organization, please contact your publisher at Elsevier.