On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective.
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 cu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2019-02-01
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| Series: | PLoS Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000151 |
| _version_ | 1818936421458640896 |
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| author | Sarvenaz Sarabipour Humberto J Debat Edward Emmott Steven J Burgess Benjamin Schwessinger Zach Hensel |
| author_facet | Sarvenaz Sarabipour Humberto J Debat Edward Emmott Steven J Burgess Benjamin Schwessinger Zach Hensel |
| author_sort | Sarvenaz Sarabipour |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:35:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-721d0549a721485a879d11d7ecb691d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1544-9173 1545-7885 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:35:48Z |
| publishDate | 2019-02-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-721d0549a721485a879d11d7ecb691d62022-12-21T19:51:37ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852019-02-01172e300015110.1371/journal.pbio.3000151On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective.Sarvenaz SarabipourHumberto J DebatEdward EmmottSteven J BurgessBenjamin SchwessingerZach HenselPeer-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.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000151 |
| spellingShingle | Sarvenaz Sarabipour Humberto J Debat Edward Emmott Steven J Burgess Benjamin Schwessinger Zach Hensel On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective. PLoS Biology |
| title | On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective. |
| title_full | On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective. |
| title_fullStr | On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective. |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective. |
| title_short | On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective. |
| title_sort | on the value of preprints an early career researcher perspective |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000151 |
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