The role of electronic preprints in chemical communication: Analysis of citation, usage, and acceptance in the journal literature

This study characterizes the usage and acceptance of electronic preprints (e‐prints) in the literature of chemistry. Survey of authors of e‐prints appearing in the Chemistry Preprint Server (CPS) at http://preprints.chemweb.com indicates use of the CPS as a convenient vehicle for dissemination of research findings and for receipt of feedback before submitting to a peer‐reviewed journal. Reception of CPS e‐prints by editors of top chemistry journals is very poor. Only 6% of editors responding allow publication of articles that have previously appeared as e‐prints. Concerns focus on the lack of peer review and the uncertain permanence of e‐print storage. Consequently, it was not surprising to discover that citation analysis yielded no citations to CPS e‐prints in the traditional literature of chemistry. Yet data collected and posted by the CPS indicates that the e‐prints are valued, read, and discussed to a notable extent within the chemistry community. Thirty‐two percent of the most highly rated, viewed, and discussed e‐prints eventually appear in the journal literature, indicating the validity of the work submitted to the CPS. This investigation illustrates the ambivalence with which editors and authors view the CPS, but also gives an early sense of the potential free and rapid information dissemination, coupled with open, uninhibited discussion and evaluation, has to expand, enrich, and vitalize the scholarly discourse of chemical scientists.