Preprints are initial drafts of scholarly research that haven’t been peer reviewed yet. They are beneficial to authors because they allow research to be shared before publication in an academic journal. This increases their visibility, allowing researchers to contribute towards scholarly communication. It also means research can be published much faster than in traditional journals.
As preprints are not peer reviewed, this can influence the way in which the research is interpreted. For example, some academics consider them unreliable sources of information. However, this is not the case as preprints still receive substantial quality checks before publication. They are reviewed through a screening process which checks for clarity and originality of the content, along with other key factors.
In this article, we’ll delve deeper into what these are and why you can use preprints with confidence. Furthermore, we’ll assess what makes a high-quality preprint and how you can submit one yourself.
What makes a preprint reliable?
You may wonder what makes a preprint reliable if it has not yet been peer reviewed. This is understandable, but like all academic literature, preprints must be checked for credibility upon submission. On Preprints.org, this means:
- The content must be written in English
- The work can’t have been previously published
- Frequent submissions may require some justification
- Authors must be genuine scholars with a verifiable research identity
- Any conflicts of interest must be disclosed before submission
- The content can’t contain any harmful messaging or statements
- Any use of AI within the research must be clearly disclosed
These eligibility criteria ensure that preprints meet the minimum requirements for publication and adhere to ethical standards. By following these guidelines, research can be published faster, and it increases the reliability of your work. For more guidance, you can find our Instructions for Authors.
How preprints evolve into peer reviewed articles
Although most journals accept preprint submissions, some may not. You should therefore confirm this with the journal before submission. If your work is published in a journal, a revised version of the manuscript will become a peer reviewed article while the preprint itself remains publicly available.
The traditional peer review process can be lengthy for researchers. It requires waiting for a critical assessment from other scholars on the quality and validity of your research. At this stage, preprints will have undergone some notable changes. These include: refined analyses, expanded discussions, clearer methods, and additional data.
Preprints support this process by allowing you to gain feedback on your research before it is critically assessed by peer reviewers. This means you can adjust information and improve the clarity of your writing before submitting to a journal. This gives scholars more time to focus on the quality of the content when it reaches the peer review stage.
This can also be less daunting for early-career researchers, as it gives you experience with the submission process before formal publication. It also allows you to build a name for yourself, as your research will be circulated and shared amongst scholars.
This opens opportunities for collaboration, enabling you to expand the scope of your research for future submissions. In turn, these interactions may help strengthen future submissions to journals.
Assessing the reliability of your preprint
To ensure your preprint meets the publication standards on Preprints.org, you should ask yourself these questions:
- Are the study’s purpose and research questions clearly stated?
- Are the research methods detailed enough for reproducibility?
- Are the underlying data, code, or supplementary files properly referenced?
- Do the visuals align with the overall narrative of the research?
- Can the institutional emails, ORCID IDs, or affiliations be verified?
If you meet these requirements, the screening process will be efficient, and your work will have a wider reach. By releasing your research in the form of a preprint, it becomes a reliable Open Education Resource (OER) for other academics. It can be used in teaching, learning, and research to foster deeper engagement with your subject.
Fostering transparency through reliable research
Preprints.org is an Open Access multidisciplinary preprint platform that welcomes research across all fields. While preprints lack formal peer review, many contain high-quality content that is suitable for scholarly research. They have transparent features which help readers evaluate whether they are a credible source of information.
Readers can access Open Access journals at no cost, making them significant forms of global knowledge exchange. Preprint.org supports this movement by providing access to research at its earliest convenience. If you do decide to submit your preprint to a journal, it can still be referenced through dedicated DOIs.
Want to submit? Upload your preprint today and make your work quickly discoverable.
Just exploring? Browse over 100,000 preprints across disciplines and stay ahead of the latest research.
