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On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective

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  • Sarvenaz Sarabipour
  • Humberto J Debat
  • Edward Emmott
  • Steven J Burgess
  • Benjamin Schwessinger
  • Zach Hensel

Abstract

Peer-reviewed journal publication is the main means for academic researchers in the life sciences to create a permanent public record of their work. These publications are also the de facto currency for career progress, with a strong link between journal brand recognition and perceived value. The current peer-review process can lead to long delays between submission and publication, with cycles of rejection, revision, and resubmission causing redundant peer review. This situation creates unique challenges for early career researchers (ECRs), who rely heavily on timely publication of their work to gain recognition for their efforts. Today, ECRs face a changing academic landscape, including the increased interdisciplinarity of life sciences research, expansion of the researcher population, and consequent shifts in employer and funding demands. The publication of preprints, publicly available scientific manuscripts posted on dedicated preprint servers prior to journal-managed peer review, can play a key role in addressing these ECR challenges. Preprinting benefits include rapid dissemination of academic work, open access, establishing priority or concurrence, receiving feedback, and facilitating collaborations. Although there is a growing appreciation for and adoption of preprints, a minority of all articles in life sciences and medicine are preprinted. The current low rate of preprint submissions in life sciences and ECR concerns regarding preprinting need to be addressed. We provide a perspective from an interdisciplinary group of ECRs on the value of preprints and advocate their wide adoption to advance knowledge and facilitate career development.This Perspective article from an interdisciplinary group of early career researchers explores the value of preprints, advocates the wider adoption of preprints to advance knowledge and facilitate career development, and tackles concerns and opportunities regarding their use.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarvenaz Sarabipour & Humberto J Debat & Edward Emmott & Steven J Burgess & Benjamin Schwessinger & Zach Hensel, 2019. "On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(2), pages 1-12, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pbio00:3000151
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000151
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Doyle, Cathal, 2020. "How Can I Share My Work? A Review of the Open Access Policies of IS Journals," OSF Preprints xr8mv, Center for Open Science.
    2. Klaus Wohlrabe & Constantin Bürgi, 2021. "Do working papers increase journal citations? Evidence from the top 5 journals in economics," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(17), pages 1531-1535, October.
    3. Alexandra Baumann & Klaus Wohlrabe, 2020. "Where have all the working papers gone? Evidence from four major economics working paper series," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(3), pages 2433-2441, September.
    4. Vincent Raoult, 2020. "How Many Papers Should Scientists Be Reviewing? An Analysis Using Verified Peer Review Reports," Publications, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-9, January.
    5. Christopher Allen & David M A Mehler, 2019. "Open science challenges, benefits and tips in early career and beyond," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(5), pages 1-14, May.
    6. Olivier Pourret & Dasapta Erwin Irawan & Jonathan P. Tennant, 2020. "On the Potential of Preprints in Geochemistry: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-6, April.
    7. Constantin Bürgi & Klaus Wohlrabe, 2021. "Working Paper, Journalartikel und Zitierungen: Eine empirische Analyse für die Top-5-Zeitschriften in der Volkswirtschaftslehre," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 74(02), pages 51-54, February.
    8. Klaus Wohlrabe & Constantin Bürgi, 2021. "What is the benefit from publishing a working paper in a journal in terms of citations? Evidence from economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(6), pages 4701-4714, June.
    9. Jonathan P. Tennant & Harry Crane & Tom Crick & Jacinto Davila & Asura Enkhbayar & Johanna Havemann & Bianca Kramer & Ryan Martin & Paola Masuzzo & Andy Nobes & Curt Rice & Bárbara Rivera-López & Tony, 2019. "Ten Hot Topics around Scholarly Publishing," Publications, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-24, May.
    10. Tom Narock & Evan B. Goldstein, 2019. "Quantifying the Growth of Preprint Services Hosted by the Center for Open Science," Publications, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-14, June.
    11. Akbaritabar, Aliakbar & Stephen, Dimity & Squazzoni, Flaminio, 2022. "A study of referencing changes in preprint-publication pairs across multiple fields," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2).

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