The VBN Team

Preprints

Preprint is a comparatively new type of publication that is currently gaining ground within the research community. This is in part because preprints offer a way to publish and share results quickly.

In some academic disciplines, like Physics for example, preprints have been used for many years. Other disciplines such as Medicine and Health Sciences are using preprints to an increasing degree, while others do not make use of them at all.

Registration of preprints in Pure

Registration of preprints as a separate publication type is a new feature in Pure.  Previously, preprints have been registered as journal articles. However, as preprints do not always end up being published as journal articles, it makes sense to register them as a separate content type.

Definition of preprint

A preprint is typically defined as an article version that has yet to be approved for publication and has not yet undergone peer review. Preprints are also called "submitted version", "pre-refereed draft", "submitted manuscript", "draft" etc. A preprint can be the version that is ready for submission to a journal, or an early version of a publication that is shared for feedback before submitting to a journal. Likewise, it can be a publication that is not intended for peer review and publication.

Preprint archives and import functionality

Preprints are usually published in preprint repositories such as arxiv.org, medrxiv.org, or biorxiv.org. Here, the preprint is usually assigned a DOI link, which is also recorded in Pure.

It is possible to import preprints from a number of sources directly into Pure. These are:

Relating preprint and article

If a preprint is published in a journal at some later point, it is possible to relate that preprint registration to the journal article registration in Pure. The relation between the two is then be displayed in the VBN Portal.