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Why preprints?

Preprints have the powerful potential to revolutionize scientific publishing, research assessment, and academic culture

Preprint resource center
Learn more about ASAPbio
Flowchart comparing peer-reviewed journal and preprint publishing processes. Peer-reviewed: manuscript, submission, peer review, published article (4-12 months). Preprint: post, server, feedback, updates (1-2 days).
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Proof of productivity
Icon of two overlapping documents labeled PREPRINTS with a red checkmark at the bottom.

Priority claim
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Receive feedback
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Increase citations
An icon showing a server on the left with four horizontal lines and circles, and a book on the right. A red arrow points from the server to the book, indicating data or information transfer.

Streamline the submission of your paper
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Increased visibility
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Increase equity in science and knowledge sharing

Foster trust in science

Empower authors and ECRs, not stakeholders

Preprints can be cited in fellowship and grant applications in addition to applying for jobs to demonstrate clear, accessible, outputs.

Preprints are assigned a DOI and are citable. This enables them to demonstrate priority. Indeed, a number of journals now accept preprints in priority claims.

As preprints are public, they enable immediate and diverse feedback. This could be feedback from preprint peer reviews, social media or even new collaborations. Data suggests that most feedback is provided privately.

Posting a preprint makes your work available earlier. This can lead to an increased number of citations for your work.

Many journals integrate with preprint servers (for example the PLOS journals integrate with bioRxiv) enabling a more streamlined submission process. Preprint review services such as Review Commons take this further by also streamlining the peer review aspect.

Preprints increase the visibility of your work and are associated with higher altmetric counts than non-preprinted work.

Preprints force readers and the academic system to focus on the content of the article, rather than poor proxies such as IF or journal names. Additionally, there are no fees for authors or readers. Together, this increases equity in research and access to knowledge.

Preprints posted to bioRxiv are associated with various “trust indicators” and any transparent comments or peer review. This increases trust in science, compared to the opaque traditional publishing methods.

Preprints are most beneficial to ECR’s and place control back into the hands of authors, not gatekeepers or financial stakeholders. This ensures preprints are true to the science and not forced to accept any specific ideology from institutions.

Preprints have the greatest potential to meaningfully and significantly change scholarly communication and academia

Preprinting is expanding!

>800,000

Life Science preprints* by the end of 2024 based on Europe PMC data

13%

Of the global life science literature is associated with a preprint

>50

Preprint servers and associated services

3%

Of preprints are publicly reviewed

Learn more about preprints

Source: EuropePMC

Preprints improve scholarly communication and are highly beneficial for early career researchers. During public health emergencies especially, preprints become vital for communication.

Preprints in public health emergencies

During the COVID-19 pandemic, preprints emerged as a vital, life-saving, communication route for scientific findings.

During the early phase of the pandemic, 40% of COVID-19 research was first shared as a preprint, ensuring rapid and accessible sharing of the latest knowledge. These preprints were shown to be as reliable sources of information as the peer reviewed literature.

Preprint resource center
Learn more
Stacked area chart showing the cumulative count of journal articles and preprints published from January 1 to November 1. Journal articles are in purple, preprints in green. The total count reaches around 125,000 by November.
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"Preprints give my research visibility"

“Preprinting my first work as senior author has enabled me to disseminate my research to the community and get valuable information about how well it is received. This enabled me to highlight to journals that there is a strong interest in my work and has made it easier to get past the editor’s desk.”

Hannes Maib
Research Fellow University of Sheffield
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"Preprints are an amazing platform to shape future science"

“Before I joined the African Reproducibility Network (AREN), I was uncertain about preprints. I was unwilling to post my manuscripts on preprint servers or even review preprints. However…I learned a great deal about preprints and open science. Following the training provided by AREN, I was overwhelmed by the realization that I had been wasting time with existing publication platforms, which often take several months or even years to publish my work. From that point on, I have committed to posting my work on preprint servers and actively participating in the review of preprints.”

Musa Ali
Associate Professor Hawassa University
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"Preprints allow me to share my research findings on time"

“The process to publish preprints is much easier and quicker. Preprints have allowed me to share my research findings much earlier compared to the traditional publication system. The papers I published as preprints are also viewed, read and downloaded more and receive more constructive reviews (for platforms that incorporate reviews).”

Aneth David
Lecturer University of Dar es Salaam
"From research to reach: preprints widen the horizon"

Reading preprints has broadened my understanding towards COVID-19 therapeutics by providing quick access to the latest research without the wait of traditional publishing. It’s allowed me to engage with cutting-edge discoveries, gain new insights, and connect with ideas helping me in my drug discovery projects. By bypassing the lengthy review process, preprints offer faster communication and a more dynamic exchange of knowledge, enabling me to stay up-to-date and actively participate in the evolving scientific conversation.

Teena Bajaj
PhD student/candidate