Preprints

The COPE preprints discussion document addresses how preprints serve research communities, with guidance on navigating the ethical challenges and opportunities presented to journal editors. COPE welcomes comments which add to this ongoing debate.

The benefits of preprints are addressed such as accelerating research communication and establishing precedence; giving editors opportunities to scout upcoming work or facilitating transfer of papers to journals, alongside the challenges such as ‘scooping’, screening, industry-wide standards and credibility of non-reviewed research. There are questions about the status of preprints in various disciplines, and the implications for submission, subsequent publication, copyright and licensing and links to peer review.

Key points

• Preprints are a form of publication which enable pre-peer reviewed articles to be disseminated quickly and widely, under open access licenses, usually at no cost to authors.
• The preprint landscape is evolving rapidly and extensively across a wide range of subject areas, and is likely to remain a permanent fixture of the publishing cycle.
• Preprints offer a wide range of benefits to authors, researchers, publishers, and the public.
• There are challenges and concerns to address around the verification and integrity of sound science in research published as preprints.
• Journal editors and publishers should be mindful of developing policies around preprints, and consider incorporating them into their instructions for authors and submission processes.

Related resources

Preprints and their place in the publication ethics landscape panel discussion at WCRI, 2019

Your feedback

COPE welcomes feedback from publishers, journal editors, preprint platforms, researchers, librarians, funders, and other stakeholders on this subject. Add your feedback below.