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Ratcliff CL, Fleerackers A, Wicke R, Harvill B, King AJ, Jensen JD. Framing COVID-19 Preprint Research as Uncertain: A Mixed-Method Study of Public Reactions. HEALTH COMMUNICATION 2024; 39:283-296. [PMID: 36683347 DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2023.2164954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists were encouraged to convey uncertainty surrounding preliminary scientific evidence, including mentioning when research is unpublished or unverified by peer review. To understand how public audiences interpret this information, we conducted a mixed method study with U.S. adults. Participants read a news article about preprint COVID-19 vaccine research in early April 2021, just as the vaccine was becoming widely available to the U.S. public. We modified the article to test two ways of conveying uncertainty (hedging of scientific claims and mention of preprint status) in a 2 × 2 between-participants factorial design. To complement this, we collected open-ended data to assess participants' understanding of the concept of a scientific preprint. In all, participants who read hedged (vs. unhedged) versions of the article reported less favorable vaccine attitudes and intentions and found the scientists and news reporting less trustworthy. These effects were moderated by participants' epistemic beliefs and their preference for information about scientific uncertainty. However, there was no impact of describing the study as a preprint, and participants' qualitative responses indicated a limited understanding of the concept. We discuss implications of these findings for communicating initial scientific evidence to the public and we outline important next steps for research and theory-building.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Blue Harvill
- School of Communication, The Ohio State University
| | - Andy J King
- Department of Communication, University of Utah and Huntsman Cancer Institute
| | - Jakob D Jensen
- Department of Communication, University of Utah and Huntsman Cancer Institute
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2
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Crawford DC, Hoye ML, Silberberg SD. From Methods to Monographs: Fostering a Culture of Research Quality. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0247-23.2023. [PMID: 37553250 PMCID: PMC10411680 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0247-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Devon C Crawford
- Office of Research Quality, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Mariah L Hoye
- Office of Research Quality, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Shai D Silberberg
- Office of Research Quality, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
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Carneiro CFD, da Costa GG, Neves K, Abreu MB, Tan PB, Rayêe D, Boos FZ, Andrejew R, Lubiana T, Malički M, Amaral OB. Characterization of Comments About bioRxiv and medRxiv Preprints. JAMA Netw Open 2023; 6:e2331410. [PMID: 37647065 PMCID: PMC10469270 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.31410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Importance Preprints have been increasingly used in biomedical science, and a key feature of many platforms is public commenting. The content of these comments, however, has not been well studied, and it is unclear whether they resemble those found in journal peer review. Objective To describe the content of comments on the bioRxiv and medRxiv preprint platforms. Design, Setting, and Participants In this cross-sectional study, preprints posted on the bioRxiv and medRxiv platforms in 2020 were accessed through each platform's application programming interface on March 29, 2021, and a random sample of preprints containing between 1 and 20 comments was evaluated independently by 3 evaluators using an instrument to assess their features and general content. Main Outcome and Measures The numbers and percentages of comments from authors or nonauthors were assessed, and the comments from nonauthors were assessed for content. These nonauthor comments were assessed to determine whether they included compliments, criticisms, corrections, suggestions, or questions, as well as their topics (eg, relevance, interpretation, and methods). Nonauthor comments were also analyzed to determine whether they included references, provided a summary of the findings, or questioned the preprint's conclusions. Results Of 52 736 preprints, 3850 (7.3%) received at least 1 comment (mean [SD] follow-up, 7.5 [3.6] months), and the 1921 assessed comments (from 1037 preprints) had a median length of 43 words (range, 1-3172 words). The criticisms, corrections, or suggestions present in 694 of 1125 comments (61.7%) were the most prevalent content, followed by compliments (n = 428 [38.0%]) and questions (n = 393 [35.0%]). Criticisms usually regarded interpretation (n = 286), methodological design (n = 267), and data collection (n = 238), while compliments were mainly about relevance (n = 111) and implications (n = 72). Conclusions and Relevance In this cross-sectional study of preprint comments, topics commonly associated with journal peer review were frequent. However, only a small percentage of preprints posted on the bioRxiv and medRxiv platforms in 2020 received comments on these platforms. A clearer taxonomy of peer review roles would help to describe whether postpublication peer review fulfills them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarissa França Dias Carneiro
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gabriel Gonçalves da Costa
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Kleber Neves
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Mariana Boechat Abreu
- Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Pedro Batista Tan
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Division of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Danielle Rayêe
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - Flávia Zacouteguy Boos
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Roberta Andrejew
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Tiago Lubiana
- Ronin Institute, Virtual Organization, São Paulo, Brazil
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Mario Malički
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University, Stanford, California
- Stanford Program on Research Rigor and Reproducibility, Stanford University, Stanford, California
- Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Olavo Bohrer Amaral
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Syed Z, Syed F, Thabane L, Rodrigues M. COVID-19 retracted publications on retraction watch: A systematic survey of their pre-prints and citations. Heliyon 2023; 9:e15184. [PMID: 37035368 PMCID: PMC10069084 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Studies related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were frequently published as pre-prints prior to undergoing peer-review. However, several publications were later retracted due to ethical concerns or study misconduct. Although these studies have been retracted, the availability of their corresponding pre-prints has never been formally investigated, and may result in the spread of misinformation if they are being used to inform decision-making. Methods Our objective was to conduct a systematic survey of retracted COVID-19 publications listed on the Retraction Watch database as of August 15th, 2021. We assessed the availability of corresponding pre-prints for retracted publications, and documented the number of citations and online views. Results Our study included 140 retracted COVID-19 publications, and we could not retrieve corresponding pre-prints for 132 retracted publications in our study (94%). Although we were unable to find the majority of pre-prints, they had already been disseminated, with a maximal citation count of 593 and Altmetric score of 558,928. Conclusion While it is reassuring that most corresponding pre-prints could not be retrieved, our study highlights the need for online platforms and journals to employ quality assurance methods to prevent the spread of misinformation through citation of retracted papers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lehana Thabane
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Biostatistics Unit, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton ON, Canada
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Corresponding author. St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Biostatistics Unit, 3rd. Floor, Martha Wing, Room H-325, 50 Charlton Avenue East, Hamilton ON L8N 4A6, Canada,
| | - Myanca Rodrigues
- Health Research Methodology Graduate Program, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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Zeng L. Changes in health communication in the age of COVID-19: A study on the dissemination of preprints to the public. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1078115. [PMID: 36844813 PMCID: PMC9944950 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1078115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Preprints have become an important tool for meeting the challenges of health communication in the context of COVID-19. They allow scientists to disseminate their results more quickly due to the absence of a peer review process. Preprints have been well-received by scientists, however, there have been concerns about the exposure of wider public audiences to preprints due in part to this lack of peer review. Methods The aim of this study is to examine the dissemination of preprints on medRxiv and bioRxiv during the COVID-19 pandemic using content analysis and statistical analysis. Results Our findings show that preprints have played an unprecedented role in disseminating COVID-19-related science results to the public. Discussion While the overall media coverage of preprints is unsatisfactory, digital native news media performed better than legacy media in reporting preprints, which means that we could make the most of digital native media to improve health communication. This study contributes to understanding how science communication has evolved in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provides some practical recommendations.
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Eckmann P, Bandrowski A. PreprintMatch: A tool for preprint to publication detection shows global inequities in scientific publication. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0281659. [PMID: 36888577 PMCID: PMC9994746 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Preprints, versions of scientific manuscripts that precede peer review, are growing in popularity. They offer an opportunity to democratize and accelerate research, as they have no publication costs or a lengthy peer review process. Preprints are often later published in peer-reviewed venues, but these publications and the original preprints are frequently not linked in any way. To this end, we developed a tool, PreprintMatch, to find matches between preprints and their corresponding published papers, if they exist. This tool outperforms existing techniques to match preprints and papers, both on matching performance and speed. PreprintMatch was applied to search for matches between preprints (from bioRxiv and medRxiv), and PubMed. The preliminary nature of preprints offers a unique perspective into scientific projects at a relatively early stage, and with better matching between preprint and paper, we explored questions related to research inequity. We found that preprints from low income countries are published as peer-reviewed papers at a lower rate than high income countries (39.6% and 61.1%, respectively), and our data is consistent with previous work that cite a lack of resources, lack of stability, and policy choices to explain this discrepancy. Preprints from low income countries were also found to be published quicker (178 vs 203 days) and with less title, abstract, and author similarity to the published version compared to high income countries. Low income countries add more authors from the preprint to the published version than high income countries (0.42 authors vs 0.32, respectively), a practice that is significantly more frequent in China compared to similar countries. Finally, we find that some publishers publish work with authors from lower income countries more frequently than others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Eckmann
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States of America
| | - Anita Bandrowski
- Department of Neuroscience, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Fleerackers A, Moorhead LL, Maggio LA, Fagan K, Alperin JP. Science in motion: A qualitative analysis of journalists' use and perception of preprints. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0277769. [PMID: 36409723 PMCID: PMC9678308 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
This qualitative study explores how and why journalists use preprints-unreviewed research papers-in their reporting. Through thematic analysis of interviews conducted with 19 health and science journalists in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it applies a theoretical framework that conceptualizes COVID-19 preprint research as a form of post-normal science, characterized by high scientific uncertainty and societal relevance, urgent need for political decision-making, and value-related policy considerations. Findings suggest that journalists approach the decision to cover preprints as a careful calculation, in which the potential public benefits and the ease of access preprints provided were weighed against risks of spreading misinformation. Journalists described viewing unreviewed studies with extra skepticism and relied on diverse strategies to find, vet, and report on them. Some of these strategies represent standard science journalism, while others, such as labeling unreviewed studies as preprints, mark a departure from the norm. However, journalists also reported barriers to covering preprints, as many felt they lacked the expertise or the time required to fully understand or vet the research. The findings suggest that coverage of preprints is likely to continue post-pandemic, with important implications for scientists, journalists, and the publics who read their work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Fleerackers
- Interdisciplinary Studies, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- * E-mail: (AF); (LLM)
| | - Laura L. Moorhead
- Journalism, College of Liberal and Creative Arts, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (AF); (LLM)
| | - Lauren A. Maggio
- Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Kaylee Fagan
- Journalism, College of Liberal and Creative Arts, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Juan Pablo Alperin
- Publishing Program, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Wood-Charlson EM, Crockett Z, Erdmann C, Arkin AP, Robinson CB. Ten simple rules for getting and giving credit for data. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010476. [PMID: 36173960 PMCID: PMC9521804 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Elisha M. Wood-Charlson
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Zachary Crockett
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Chris Erdmann
- American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Adam P. Arkin
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Carly B. Robinson
- U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States of America
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Ibragimova I, Phagava H. Editorial: Preprints and peer-reviewed journals. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH GOVERNANCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1108/ijhg-09-2022-149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Preprint citation practice in PLOS. Scientometrics 2022; 127:6895-6912. [PMID: 35702375 PMCID: PMC9186004 DOI: 10.1007/s11192-022-04388-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe role of preprints in the scientific production and their part in citations have been growing over the past 10 years. In this paper we study preprint citations in several different aspects: the progression of preprint citations over time, their relative frequencies in relation to the IMRaD structure of articles, their distributions over time, per preprint database and per PLOS journal. We have processed the PLOS corpus that covers 7 journals and a total of about 240,000 articles up to January 2021, and produced a dataset of 8460 preprint citation contexts that cite 12 different preprint databases. Our results show that preprint citations are found with the highest frequency in the Method section of articles, though small variations exist with respect to journals. The PLOS Computational Biology journal stands out as it contains more than three times more preprint citations than any other PLOS journal. The relative parts of the different preprint databases are also examined. While ArXiv and bioRxiv are the most frequent citation sources, bioRxiv’s disciplinary nature can be observed as it is the source of more than 70% of preprint citations in PLOS Biology, PLOS Genetics and PLOS Pathogens. We have also compared the lexical content of preprint citation contexts to the citation content to peer-reviewed publications. Finally, by performing a lexicometric analysis, we have shown that preprint citation contexts differ significantly from citation contexts of peer-reviewed publications. This confirms that authors make use of different lexical content when citing preprints compared to the rest of citations.
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Fleerackers A, Riedlinger M, Moorhead L, Ahmed R, Alperin JP. Communicating Scientific Uncertainty in an Age of COVID-19: An Investigation into the Use of Preprints by Digital Media Outlets. HEALTH COMMUNICATION 2022; 37:726-738. [PMID: 33390033 DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2020.1864892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In this article, we investigate the surge in use of COVID-19-related preprints by media outlets. Journalists are a main source of reliable public health information during crises and, until recently, journalists have been reluctant to cover preprints because of the associated scientific uncertainty. Yet, uploads of COVID-19 preprints and their uptake by online media have outstripped that of preprints about any other topic. Using an innovative approach combining altmetrics methods with content analysis, we identified a diversity of outlets covering COVID-19-related preprints during the early months of the pandemic, including specialist medical news outlets, traditional news media outlets, and aggregators. We found a ubiquity of hyperlinks as citations and a multiplicity of framing devices for highlighting the scientific uncertainty associated with COVID-19 preprints. These devices were rarely used consistently (e.g., mentioning that the study was a preprint, unreviewed, preliminary, and/or in need of verification). About half of the stories we analyzed contained framing devices emphasizing uncertainty. Outlets in our sample were much less likely to identify the research they mentioned as preprint research, compared to identifying it as simply "research." This work has significant implications for public health communication within the changing media landscape. While current best practices in public health risk communication promote identifying and promoting trustworthy sources of information, the uptake of preprint research by online media presents new challenges. At the same time, it provides new opportunities for fostering greater awareness of the scientific uncertainty associated with health research findings.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Laura Moorhead
- Journalism, College of Liberal and Creative Arts, San Francisco State University
| | - Rukhsana Ahmed
- Department of Communication, University at Albany, State University of New York
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Jarratt L, Situ J, King RD, Montanez Ramos E, Groves H, Ormesher R, Cossé M, Raboff A, Mahajan A, Thompson J, Ko RF, Paltrow-Krulwich S, Price A, Hurwitz AML, CampBell T, Epler LT, Nguyen F, Wolinsky E, Edwards-Fligner M, Lobo J, Rivera D, Langsjoen J, Sloane L, Hendrix I, Munde EO, Onyango CO, Olewe PK, Anyona SB, Yingling AV, Lauve NR, Kumar P, Stoicu S, Nestsiarovich A, Bologa CG, Oprea TI, Tollestrup K, Myers OB, Anixter M, Perkins DJ, Lambert CG. A Comprehensive COVID-19 Daily News and Medical Literature Briefing to Inform Health Care and Policy in New Mexico: Implementation Study. JMIR MEDICAL EDUCATION 2022; 8:e23845. [PMID: 35142625 PMCID: PMC8908195 DOI: 10.2196/23845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Revised: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND On March 11, 2020, the New Mexico Governor declared a public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The New Mexico medical advisory team contacted University of New Mexico (UNM) faculty to form a team to consolidate growing information on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its disease to facilitate New Mexico's pandemic management. Thus, faculty, physicians, staff, graduate students, and medical students created the "UNM Global Health COVID-19 Intelligence Briefing." OBJECTIVE In this paper, we sought to (1) share how to create an informative briefing to guide public policy and medical practice and manage information overload with rapidly evolving scientific evidence; (2) determine the qualitative usefulness of the briefing to its readers; and (3) determine the qualitative effect this project has had on virtual medical education. METHODS Microsoft Teams was used for manual and automated capture of COVID-19 articles and composition of briefings. Multilevel triaging saved impactful articles to be reviewed, and priority was placed on randomized controlled studies, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, practice guidelines, and information on health care and policy response to COVID-19. The finalized briefing was disseminated by email, a listserv, and posted on the UNM digital repository. A survey was sent to readers to determine briefing usefulness and whether it led to policy or medical practice changes. Medical students, unable to partake in direct patient care, proposed to the School of Medicine that involvement in the briefing should count as course credit, which was approved. The maintenance of medical student involvement in the briefings as well as this publication was led by medical students. RESULTS An average of 456 articles were assessed daily. The briefings reached approximately 1000 people by email and listserv directly, with an unknown amount of forwarding. Digital repository tracking showed 5047 downloads across 116 countries as of July 5, 2020. The survey found 108 (95%) of 114 participants gained relevant knowledge, 90 (79%) believed it decreased misinformation, 27 (24%) used the briefing as their primary source of information, and 90 (79%) forwarded it to colleagues. Specific and impactful public policy decisions were informed based on the briefing. Medical students reported that the project allowed them to improve on their scientific literature assessment, stay current on the pandemic, and serve their community. CONCLUSIONS The COVID-19 briefings succeeded in informing and guiding New Mexico policy and clinical practice. The project received positive feedback from the community and was shown to decrease information burden and misinformation. The virtual platforms allowed for the continuation of medical education. Variability in subject matter expertise was addressed with training, standardized article selection criteria, and collaborative editing led by faculty.
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Affiliation(s)
- LynnMarie Jarratt
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Jenny Situ
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Rachel D King
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | | | - Hannah Groves
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Ryen Ormesher
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Melissa Cossé
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Alyse Raboff
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Avanika Mahajan
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Jennifer Thompson
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Randy F Ko
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | | | - Allison Price
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | | | - Timothy CampBell
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Lauren T Epler
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Fiona Nguyen
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Emma Wolinsky
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | | | - Jolene Lobo
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Danielle Rivera
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Jens Langsjoen
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Lori Sloane
- University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Ingrid Hendrix
- University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Elly O Munde
- University of New Mexico-Maseno Global Health Programs Laboratories, Kisumu, Kenya
- Department of Clinical Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Kirinyaga University, Kerugoya, Kenya
| | - Clinton O Onyango
- University of New Mexico-Maseno Global Health Programs Laboratories, Kisumu, Kenya
| | - Perez K Olewe
- University of New Mexico-Maseno Global Health Programs Laboratories, Kisumu, Kenya
| | - Samuel B Anyona
- University of New Mexico-Maseno Global Health Programs Laboratories, Kisumu, Kenya
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Maseno University, Maseno, Kenya
| | - Alexandra V Yingling
- Center for Global Health, Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Nicolas R Lauve
- Center for Global Health, Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
- Department of Computer Science, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Praveen Kumar
- Center for Global Health, Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
- Department of Computer Science, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Shawn Stoicu
- Health and Sciences Center Sponsored Projects Office, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Anastasiya Nestsiarovich
- Center for Global Health, Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Cristian G Bologa
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
- Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Tudor I Oprea
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
- Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Kristine Tollestrup
- University of New Mexico College of Population Health, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Orrin B Myers
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Mari Anixter
- New Mexico Department of Health, Communications Office, Office of the Secretary, Santa Fe, NM, United States
| | - Douglas J Perkins
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
- Center for Global Health, Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Christophe Gerard Lambert
- Center for Global Health, Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States
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Cheng X, Chen Q, Tang L, Wu Y, Wang H, Wang G. Rapid Response in an Uncertain Environment: Study of COVID-19 Scientific Research Under the Parallel Model. Healthc Policy 2022; 15:339-349. [PMID: 35250320 PMCID: PMC8896189 DOI: 10.2147/rmhp.s351261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose The rapid response of COVID-19 scientific research played a significant role in pandemic prevention and control but failed to block the spread of the pandemic rapidly. Besides the complexity of the virus, the effectiveness of control and prevention measures, and other factors, the adaptation of the mode of conducting scientific research is also crucial for the prevention and control of COVID-19. In this study, a parallel model was used to explore the effects of the rapid scientific response on COVID-19 to assess why pandemics continue to spread under rapid response. Analysis This study presents the response of scientific research based on country/region and publication dimensions after analyzing COVID-19 studies in the Web of Science and PubMed databases. Co-occurrence analysis of items was used to determine the generation rate of COVID-19 research under different topics to identify the reflected innovation model. Results More manifestations on rapid response of COVID-19 research, especially compared with the linear model of SARS research, showed that the COVID-19 research followed a parallel or concurrent innovation model. Conclusion Early multi-stakeholder partnership, convenient information sharing, and improved research competence promote the parallel model in COVID-19. Meanwhile, the uncertainty of the COVID-19 virus and the adverse effect of rapid response may limit the time efficiency of the parallel model. In conclusion, the rapid prevention and control of the pandemic cannot fully rely on scientific research but requires more combined effort under an uncertain global setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Cheng
- Department of Digital Communication, Soochow University, Soochow, Jiangsu, 215123, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qiyuan Chen
- Department of Digital Communication, Soochow University, Soochow, Jiangsu, 215123, People’s Republic of China
| | - Li Tang
- Department of Public Administration, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yue Wu
- Department of Digital Communication, Soochow University, Soochow, Jiangsu, 215123, People’s Republic of China
| | - Haoran Wang
- Department of Digital Communication, Soochow University, Soochow, Jiangsu, 215123, People’s Republic of China
| | - Guoyan Wang
- Department of Digital Communication, Soochow University, Soochow, Jiangsu, 215123, People’s Republic of China
- Correspondence: Guoyan Wang, Department of Digital Communication, Soochow University, Soochow, Jiangsu, 215123, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-19951313650, Email
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14
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Kodvanj I, Homolak J, Virag D, Trkulja V. Publishing of COVID-19 preprints in peer-reviewed journals, preprinting trends, public discussion and quality issues. Scientometrics 2022; 127:1339-1352. [PMID: 35125557 PMCID: PMC8801281 DOI: 10.1007/s11192-021-04249-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
COVID-19-related (vs. non-related) articles appear to be more expeditiously processed and published in peer-reviewed journals. We aimed to evaluate: (i) whether COVID-19-related preprints were favored for publication, (ii) preprinting trends and public discussion of the preprints, and (iii) the relationship between the publication topic (COVID-19-related or not) and quality issues. Manuscripts deposited at bioRxiv and medRxiv between January 1 and September 27 2020 were assessed for the probability of publishing in peer-reviewed journals, and those published were evaluated for submission-to-acceptance time. The extent of public discussion was assessed based on Altmetric and Disqus data. The Retraction Watch Database and PubMed were used to explore the retraction of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 articles and preprints. With adjustment for the preprinting server and number of deposited versions, COVID-19-related preprints were more likely to be published within 120 days since the deposition of the first version (OR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.80-2.14) as well as over the entire observed period (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.31-1.48). Submission-to-acceptance was by 35.85 days (95% CI: 32.25-39.45) shorter for COVID-19 articles. Public discussion of preprints was modest and COVID-19 articles were overrepresented in the pool of retracted articles in 2020. Current data suggest a preference for publication of COVID-19-related preprints over the observed period. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11192-021-04249-7.
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15
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Okamura K. Scientometric engineering: Exploring citation dynamics via arXiv eprints. QUANTITATIVE SCIENCE STUDIES 2022. [DOI: 10.1162/qss_a_00174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Scholarly communications have been rapidly integrated into digitised and networked open ecosystems, where preprint servers have played a pivotal role in accelerating the knowledge transfer processes. However, quantitative evidence is scarce regarding how this paradigm shift beyond the traditional journal publication system has affected the dynamics of collective attention on science. To address this issue, we investigate the citation data of more than 1.5 million eprints on arXiv (https://arxiv.org) and analyse the long-term citation trend for each discipline involved. We find that the typical growth and obsolescence patterns vary across disciplines, reflecting different publication and communication practices. The results provide unique evidence on the attention dynamics shaped by the research community today, including the dramatic growth and fast obsolescence of Computer Science eprints, which has not been captured in previous studies relying on the citation data of journal papers. Subsequently, we develop a quantitatively-and-temporally normalised citation index with an approximately normal distribution, which is useful for comparing citational attention across disciplines and time periods. Further, we derive a stochastic model consistent with the observed quantitative and temporal characteristics of citation growth and obsolescence. The findings and the developed framework open a new avenue for understanding the nature of citation dynamics.
Peer Review
https://publons.com/publon/10.1162/qss_a_00174
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Affiliation(s)
- Keisuke Okamura
- Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), 3-2-2 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8959, Japan
- SciREX Center, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), 7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8677, Japan
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16
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Camargo Jr. KRD, Coeli CM. The challenge of preprints for public health. CAD SAUDE PUBLICA 2022; 38:e00168222. [DOI: 10.1590/0102-311xen168222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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17
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Urban L, De Niz M, Fernández-Chiappe F, Ebrahimi H, Han LKM, Mehta D, Mencia R, Mittal D, Ochola E, Paz Quezada C, Romani F, Sinapayen L, Tay A, Varma A, Yahia Mohamed Elkheir L. eLife's new model and its impact on science communication. eLife 2022; 11:84816. [PMID: 36476569 PMCID: PMC9731567 DOI: 10.7554/elife.84816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The eLife Early-Career Advisory Group discusses eLife's new peer review and publishing model, and how the whole process of scientific communication could be improved for the benefit of early-career researchers and the entire scientific community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Urban
- Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz AI, Technical University of MunichMunichGermany
| | | | - Florencia Fernández-Chiappe
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires – CONICET – Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaBuenos AiresArgentina
| | - Hedyeh Ebrahimi
- Non-communicable Diseases Research Center, Tehran University of Medical SciencesTehranIslamic Republic of Iran
| | - Laura KM Han
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of MelbourneParkvilleAustralia
| | - Devang Mehta
- Department of Biosystems, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Regina Mencia
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral (CONICET-UNL)Sante FeArgentina
| | - Divyansh Mittal
- Center for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
| | - Elizabeth Ochola
- Centre for Global Health Research, Kenya Medical Research InstituteKisumuKenya
| | - Carolina Paz Quezada
- Departamento de Química Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica de la Santísima ConcepciónConcepciónChile
| | - Facundo Romani
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | | | - Andy Tay
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore
| | - Aalok Varma
- National Centre for Biological SciencesBangaloreIndia
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18
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Graham EB, Smith AP. Crowdsourcing Global Perspectives in Ecology Using Social Media. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.588894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Transparent, open, and reproducible research is still far from routine, and the full potential of open science has not yet been realized. Crowdsourcing–defined as the usage of a flexible open call to a heterogeneous group of individuals to recruit volunteers for a task –is an emerging scientific model that encourages larger and more outwardly transparent collaborations. While crowdsourcing, particularly through citizen- or community-based science, has been increasing over the last decade in ecological research, it remains infrequently used as a means of generating scientific knowledge in comparison to more traditional approaches. We explored a new implementation of crowdsourcing by using an open call on social media to assess its utility to address fundamental ecological questions. We specifically focused on pervasive challenges in predicting, mitigating, and understanding the consequences of disturbances. In this paper, we briefly review open science concepts and their benefits, and then focus on the new methods we used to generate a scientific publication. We share our approach, lessons learned, and potential pathways forward for expanding open science. Our model is based on the beliefs that social media can be a powerful tool for idea generation and that open collaborative writing processes can enhance scientific outcomes. We structured the project in five phases: (1) draft idea generation, (2) leadership team recruitment and project development, (3) open collaborator recruitment via social media, (4) iterative paper development, and (5) final editing, authorship assignment, and submission by the leadership team. We observed benefits including: facilitating connections between unusual networks of scientists, providing opportunities for early career and underrepresented groups of scientists, and rapid knowledge exchange that generated multidisciplinary ideas. We also identified areas for improvement, highlighting biases in the individuals that self-selected participation and acknowledging remaining barriers to contributing new or incompletely formed ideas into a public document. While shifting scientific paradigms to completely open science is a long-term process, our hope in publishing this work is to encourage others to build upon and improve our efforts in new and creative ways.
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19
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Wolf JF, MacKay L, Haworth SE, Cossette M, Dedato MN, Young KB, Elliott CI, Oomen RA. Preprinting is positively associated with early career researcher status in ecology and evolution. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:13624-13632. [PMID: 34707804 PMCID: PMC8525114 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The usage of preprint servers in ecology and evolution is increasing, allowing research to be rapidly disseminated and available through open access at no cost. Early Career Researchers (ECRs) often have limited experience with the peer review process, which can be challenging when trying to build publication records and demonstrate research ability for funding opportunities, scholarships, grants, or faculty positions. ECRs face different challenges relative to researchers with permanent positions and established research programs. These challenges might also vary according to institution size and country, which are factors associated with the availability of funding for open access journals. We predicted that the career stage and institution size impact the relative usage of preprint servers among researchers in ecology and evolution. Using data collected from 500 articles (100 from each of two open access journals, two closed access journals, and a preprint server), we showed that ECRs generated more preprints relative to non-ECRs, for both first and last authors. We speculate that this pattern is reflective of the advantages of quick and open access research that is disproportionately beneficial to ECRs. There is also a marginal association between first author, institution size, and preprint usage, whereby the number of preprints tends to increase with institution size for ECRs. The United States and United Kingdom contributed the greatest number of preprints by ECRs, whereas non-Western countries contributed relatively fewer preprints. This empirical evidence that preprint usage varies with the career stage, institution size, and country helps to identify barriers surrounding large-scale adoption of preprinting in ecology and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse F. Wolf
- Department of Environmental and Life SciencesTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Layla MacKay
- Department of Forensic ScienceTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Sarah E. Haworth
- Department of Environmental and Life SciencesTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
| | | | - Morgan N. Dedato
- Department of Environmental and Life SciencesTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Kiana B. Young
- Department of Environmental and Life SciencesTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Colin I. Elliott
- Department of Forensic ScienceTrent UniversityPeterboroughONCanada
| | - Rebekah A. Oomen
- Department of BiosciencesCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary SynthesisUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
- Department of Natural SciencesCentre for Coastal ResearchUniversity of AgderKristiansandNorway
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20
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Bozzato V, Gnoato M, Vilia A, Apostolico M. Intellectual property protection for scholarly publishing in the Italian framework: a globally open approach for medical and life sciences authors. ITALIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE 2021. [DOI: 10.4081/itjm.2021.1473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper aims at analyzing the importance of protection of intellectual property (IP) in biomedical scholarly publications, both for the author’s reputation and the dissemination of scientific knowledge. The laws that regulate IP are very complex and differ from country to country. We shall focus on the Italian framework though many considerations could be applied to foreign contexts. IP is very articulated, yet often ignored, that is worth paying attention to a correct copyright management can help researchers promote their Work and the community to benefit from it. In the scholarly publishing field, there are two main areas: traditional publishers and open-access publishers. The first group requires a fee to access the content they publish and usually ask the authors for a complete transfer of copyright. The possibility to negotiate terms with such publishers is often overlooked: scholarly authors tend to think they do not have leverage in the publishing cycle. The so-called addendum and professional figures, like librarians and attorneys, can help manage the authors’ intellectual property. On the other hand, open-access publishers give free access to published material, guaranteeing the protection of IP: thanks to the Creative Commons Licenses, the authors do not have to surrender their copyright to the publisher and can manage and control the use made out of their Work. Applying the principles put forth in this article implies enhancing research dissemination by increasing its impact and visibility. However, to achieve such a goal, it is necessary to protect intellectual property for the sake of authors, users, and scientific progress.
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21
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Higgins J, Steiner RD. Author preprint behaviour and
non‐compliance
with journal preprint policies: One biomedical journal's experience. LEARNED PUBLISHING 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/leap.1376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Higgins
- American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics Bethesda Maryland USA
| | - Robert D. Steiner
- Marshfield Clinic Health System Marshfield Wisconsin USA
- University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Madison Wisconsin USA
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22
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Vlasschaert C, Giles C, Hiremath S, Lanktree MB. Preprint Servers in Kidney Disease Research: A Rapid Review. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2021; 16:479-486. [PMID: 32680914 PMCID: PMC8011003 DOI: 10.2215/cjn.03800320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Preprint servers, such as arXiv and bioRxiv, have disrupted the scientific communication landscape by providing rapid access to research before peer review. medRxiv was launched as a free online repository for preprints in the medical, clinical, and related health sciences in 2019. In this review, we present the uptake of preprint server use in nephrology and discuss specific considerations regarding preprint server use in medicine. Distribution of kidney-related research on preprint servers is rising at an exponential rate. Survey of nephrology journals identified that 15 of 17 (88%) are publishing original research accepted submissions that have been uploaded to preprint servers. After reviewing 52 clinically impactful trials in nephrology discussed in the online Nephrology Journal Club (NephJC), an average lag of 300 days was found between study completion and publication, indicating an opportunity for faster research dissemination. Rapid review of papers discussing benefits and risks of preprint server use from the researcher, publisher, or end user perspective identified 53 papers that met criteria. Potential benefits of biomedical preprint servers included rapid dissemination, improved transparency of the peer review process, greater visibility and recognition, and collaboration. However, these benefits come at the risk of rapid spread of results not yet subjected to the rigors of peer review. Preprint servers shift the burden of critical appraisal to the reader. Media may be especially at risk due to their focus on "late-breaking" information. Preprint servers have played an even larger role when late-breaking research results are of special interest, such as during the global coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Coronavirus disease 2019 has brought both the benefits and risks of preprint servers to the forefront. Given the prominent online presence of the nephrology community, it is poised to lead the medicine community in appropriate use of preprint servers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cameron Giles
- Department of Medicine, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Swapnil Hiremath
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matthew B. Lanktree
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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23
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Nabavi Nouri S, Cohen YA, Madhavan MV, Slomka PJ, Iskandrian AE, Einstein AJ. Preprint manuscripts and servers in the era of coronavirus disease 2019. J Eval Clin Pract 2021; 27:16-21. [PMID: 33094906 DOI: 10.1111/jep.13498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE, AIMS, AND OBJECTIVES To both examine the impact of preprint publishing on health sciences research and survey popular preprint servers amidst the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS The authors queried three biomedical databases (MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) and two preprint servers (MedRxiv and SSRN) to identify literature pertaining to preprints. Additionally, they evaluated 12 preprint servers featuring COVID-19 research through sample submission of six manuscripts. RESULTS The realm of health sciences research has seen a dramatic increase in the presence and importance of preprint publications. By posting manuscripts on preprint servers, researchers are able to immediately communicate their findings, thereby facilitating prompt feedback and promoting collaboration. In doing so, they may also reduce publication bias and improve methodological transparency. However, by circumventing the peer-review process, academia incurs the risk of disseminating erroneous or misinterpreted data and suffering the downstream consequences. Never have these issues been better highlighted than during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers have flooded the literature with preprint publications as stopgaps to meet the desperate need for knowledge about the disease. These unreviewed articles initially outnumbered those published in conventional journals and helped steer the mainstream scientific community at the start of the pandemic. In surveying select preprint servers, the authors discovered varying usability, review practices, and acceptance polices. CONCLUSION While vital in the rapid dispensation of science, preprint manuscripts promulgate their conclusions without peer review and possess the capacity to misinform. Undoubtedly part of the future of science, conscientious consumers will need to appreciate not only their utility, but also their limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shayan Nabavi Nouri
- Seymour, Paul, and Gloria Milstein Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA
| | - Yosef A Cohen
- Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Mahesh V Madhavan
- Seymour, Paul, and Gloria Milstein Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA
| | - Piotr J Slomka
- Departments of Biomedical Sciences and Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Ami E Iskandrian
- Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Andrew J Einstein
- Seymour, Paul, and Gloria Milstein Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA.,Department of Radiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA
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24
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Correa JC, Laverde-Rojas H, Tejada J, Marmolejo-Ramos F. The Sci-Hub effect on papers’ citations. Scientometrics 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11192-020-03806-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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25
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Wang Y, Cao Z, Zeng DD, Zhang Q, Luo T. The collective wisdom in the COVID-19 research: Comparison and synthesis of epidemiological parameter estimates in preprints and peer-reviewed articles. Int J Infect Dis 2020; 104:1-6. [PMID: 33352327 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.12.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2020] [Revised: 11/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We aimed to explore the collective wisdom of preprints related to COVID-19 by comparing and synthesizing them with results of peer-reviewed publications. METHODS PubMed, Google Scholar, medRxiv, bioRxiv, arXiv, and SSRN were searched for papers regarding the estimation of four epidemiological parameters of COVID-19: the basic reproduction number, incubation period, infectious period, and case-fatality-rate. Distributions of parameters and timeliness of preprints and peer-reviewed papers were compared. Four parameters in two groups were synthesized by bootstrapping, and their validities were evaluated by simulated cumulative cases of the susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered-dead-cumulative (SEIRDC) model. RESULTS A total of 106 papers were included for analysis. The distributions of four parameters in two literature groups were close, and the timeliness of preprints was better. Synthesized estimates of the basic reproduction number (3.18, 95% CI 2.85-3.53), incubation period (5.44 days, 95% CI 4.98-5.99), infectious period (6.25 days, 95% CI 5.09-7.51), and case-fatality-rate (4.51%, 95% CI 3.41%-6.29%) were obtained. Simulated cumulative cases of the SEIRDC model matched well with the onset cases in China. CONCLUSIONS The validity of the COVID-19 parameter estimations of the preprints was on par with that of peer-reviewed publications, and synthesized results of literatures could reduce the uncertainty and be used for epidemic decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuejiao Wang
- Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhidong Cao
- Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
| | - Daniel Dajun Zeng
- Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | | | - Tianyi Luo
- Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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26
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Yamakage M. Update to the handling of "Preprints" by the Journal of Anesthesia. J Anesth 2020; 35:1-2. [PMID: 33320281 PMCID: PMC7736130 DOI: 10.1007/s00540-020-02885-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michiaki Yamakage
- Department of Anesthesiology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
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27
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Carneiro CFD, Queiroz VGS, Moulin TC, Carvalho CAM, Haas CB, Rayêe D, Henshall DE, De-Souza EA, Amorim FE, Boos FZ, Guercio GD, Costa IR, Hajdu KL, van Egmond L, Modrák M, Tan PB, Abdill RJ, Burgess SJ, Guerra SFS, Bortoluzzi VT, Amaral OB. Comparing quality of reporting between preprints and peer-reviewed articles in the biomedical literature. Res Integr Peer Rev 2020; 5:16. [PMID: 33292815 PMCID: PMC7706207 DOI: 10.1186/s41073-020-00101-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Preprint usage is growing rapidly in the life sciences; however, questions remain on the relative quality of preprints when compared to published articles. An objective dimension of quality that is readily measurable is completeness of reporting, as transparency can improve the reader's ability to independently interpret data and reproduce findings. METHODS In this observational study, we initially compared independent samples of articles published in bioRxiv and in PubMed-indexed journals in 2016 using a quality of reporting questionnaire. After that, we performed paired comparisons between preprints from bioRxiv to their own peer-reviewed versions in journals. RESULTS Peer-reviewed articles had, on average, higher quality of reporting than preprints, although the difference was small, with absolute differences of 5.0% [95% CI 1.4, 8.6] and 4.7% [95% CI 2.4, 7.0] of reported items in the independent samples and paired sample comparison, respectively. There were larger differences favoring peer-reviewed articles in subjective ratings of how clearly titles and abstracts presented the main findings and how easy it was to locate relevant reporting information. Changes in reporting from preprints to peer-reviewed versions did not correlate with the impact factor of the publication venue or with the time lag from bioRxiv to journal publication. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that, on average, publication in a peer-reviewed journal is associated with improvement in quality of reporting. They also show that quality of reporting in preprints in the life sciences is within a similar range as that of peer-reviewed articles, albeit slightly lower on average, supporting the idea that preprints should be considered valid scientific contributions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarissa F D Carneiro
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil.
| | - Victor G S Queiroz
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Thiago C Moulin
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Carlos A M Carvalho
- Seção de Arbovirologia e Febres Hemorrágicas, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Ananindeua, Pará, Brazil
- Departamento de Patologia, Universidade do Estado do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
- Centro Universitário Metropolitano da Amazônia, Instituto Euro-Americano de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia, Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Clarissa B Haas
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Danielle Rayêe
- Biomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Evandro A De-Souza
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Felippe E Amorim
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Flávia Z Boos
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Gerson D Guercio
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Igor R Costa
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Karina L Hajdu
- Biomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Martin Modrák
- Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pedro B Tan
- Biomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Richard J Abdill
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Steven J Burgess
- Carl R Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Sylvia F S Guerra
- Centro Universitário Metropolitano da Amazônia, Instituto Euro-Americano de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia, Belém, Pará, Brazil
- Seção de Virologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Ananindeua, Pará, Brazil
- Departamento de Morfologia e Ciências Fisiológicas, Universidade do Estado do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
| | - Vanessa T Bortoluzzi
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Olavo B Amaral
- Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil
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29
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Silva TF, Melo AAD, Santos DLAD, Vaz EC, Corvalan LCJ, Ribeiro MDL, Rodrigues FM. Systematic review of bibliometric studies on SARS-CoV-2. REVISTA CIÊNCIAS EM SAÚDE 2020. [DOI: 10.21876/rcshci.v10i3.1023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: To perform a systematic review of articles that evaluated the scientific production on SARS-CoV-2 through bibliometric analyzes. Methods: Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases were used. After applying the pre-established inclusion criteria, 30 articles were included. Results. The total number of articles found in the bibliometric studies on SARS-CoV-2 varied widely from 153 to 21,395 articles and an average equal to 4,279 (± 5,510). A total of 17 countries published within the scope of this study, but only six published more than one article, emphasizing authors from Chinese institutions (17%). Scopus was the most used database in bibliometric studies (50%, n = 15). The articles used 72 different keywords with emphasis on: COVID-19 (15%), SARS-CoV-2 (12%) and 2019-nCoV (9%). Conclusion. We are facing an unprecedented scenario of information about SARS-CoV-2 and this has required a collective scientific effort reflected in the daily publication of hundreds of studies (articles, pre-prints, clinical guides, protocols). Bibliometric methods are being increasingly used by the scientific community to systematize this information. Therefore, the systematic review carried out in this study provided an overview of the bibliometric literature on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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30
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Czechowska K, Lannigan J, Aghaeepour N, Back JB, Begum J, Behbehani G, Bispo C, Bitoun D, Fernández AB, Boova ST, Brinkman RR, Ciccolella CO, Cotleur B, Davies D, Dela Cruz GV, Del Rio-Guerra R, Des Lauriers-Cox AM, Douagi I, Dumrese C, Bonilla Escobar DL, Estevam J, Ewald C, Fossum A, Gaudillière B, Green C, Groves C, Hall C, Haque Y, Hedrick MN, Hogg K, Hsieh EWY, Irish J, Lederer J, Leipold M, Lewis-Tuffin LJ, Litwin V, Lopez P, Nasdala I, Nedbal J, Ohlsson-Wilhelm BM, Price KM, Rahman AH, Rayanki R, Rieger AM, Robinson JP, Shapiro H, Sun YS, Tang VA, Tesfa L, Telford WG, Walker R, Welsh JA, Wheeler P, Tárnok A. Cyt-Geist: Current and Future Challenges in Cytometry: Reports of the CYTO 2019 Conference Workshops. Cytometry A 2020; 95:1236-1274. [PMID: 31833655 DOI: 10.1002/cyto.a.23941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Joanne Lannigan
- Flow Cytometry Support Services, LLC, Alexandria, Virginia.,Flow Cytometry Core, University of Virginia, School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia
| | - Nima Aghaeepour
- Department of Anesthesiology, Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Jessica B Back
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Julfa Begum
- Flow Cytometry Facility, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Greg Behbehani
- Wexner Medical Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Cláudia Bispo
- Parnassus Flow Cytometry Core, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California.,ISAC SRL Emerging Leader, Arlington, Virginia
| | - Daniel Bitoun
- EMA Regional Marketing, BD Lifesciences, International Office, Belgium
| | - Alfonso Blanco Fernández
- UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Samuel Tony Boova
- High Burden HIV Global Markets, Beckman Coulter, Inc., Miami, Florida
| | - Ryan Remy Brinkman
- Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia and British Columbia Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.,Cytapex Bioinformatics Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | | | - Derek Davies
- Science Technology Platform Training Lead, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Gelo Victoriano Dela Cruz
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Biology - DanStem, Flow Cytometry Platform, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Roxana Del Rio-Guerra
- Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Facility, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont
| | | | - Iyadh Douagi
- Flow Cytometry Section, Research Technologies Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Claudia Dumrese
- Cytometry Facility, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Jose Estevam
- Center of Biomarker Innovation and Development, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Christina Ewald
- Cytometry Facility Senior Scientist, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Anna Fossum
- Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Brice Gaudillière
- Anesthesiology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Cherie Green
- Flow Cytometry Biomarkers Development Sciences, Genentech, Inc., San Francisco, California
| | - Christopher Groves
- Cytometry/Dynamic Omics in R&D Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, Astra Zeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland
| | - Christopher Hall
- ISAC SRL Emerging Leader, Arlington, Virginia.,Cytometry Core Facility, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
| | - Yasmin Haque
- Flow Cytometry Facility, Department of Immunobiology and Infectious Diseases, King's College London, London, UK
| | | | - Karen Hogg
- Imaging and Cytometry Laboratory, Bioscience Technology Facility, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Elena W Y Hsieh
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Jonathan Irish
- Cancer & Immunology Core and Mass Cytometry Center of Excellence, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - James Lederer
- Department of Surgery (Immunology), Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Michael Leipold
- Human Immune Monitoring Center (HIMC), Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Laura J Lewis-Tuffin
- Microscopy and Flow Cytometry Shared Resource, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida
| | - Virginia Litwin
- Caprion Biosciences, Inc., Immunology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Peter Lopez
- Cytometry and Cell Sorting Laboratory, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York
| | | | - Jakub Nedbal
- Physics Department, King's College London, London, UK.,ISAC Marylou Ingram Scholar, Arlington, Virginia
| | | | - Kylie M Price
- Hugh Green Cytometry Centre, Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Adeeb H Rahman
- Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.,Dept. of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - Radhika Rayanki
- Cytometry/Dynamic Omics in R&D Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, Astra Zeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland
| | - Aja M Rieger
- ISAC SRL Emerging Leader, Arlington, Virginia.,University of Alberta, Flow Cytometry Facility, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Alberta, Canada
| | - J Paul Robinson
- College of Veterinary Medicine and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
| | | | | | - Vera A Tang
- University of Ottawa, Flow Cytometry and Virometry Core Facility, Ottawa, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Lydia Tesfa
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - William G Telford
- Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Center Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Rachael Walker
- Flow Cytometry Core Facility, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Joshua A Welsh
- ISAC Marylou Ingram Scholar, Arlington, Virginia.,Laboratory of Pathology, Translational Nanobiology Section, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Paul Wheeler
- Flow Cytometry, Luminex Corporation, Peterborough, UK
| | - Attila Tárnok
- Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology (IMISE), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Department Therapy Validation, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Leipzig, Germany
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31
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Freedman TS, Headley MB, Serwas N, Ruhland M, Castellanos CA, Combes AJ, Krummel MF. Lessons of COVID-19: A roadmap for post-pandemic science. J Exp Med 2020; 217:e20201276. [PMID: 32735669 PMCID: PMC7392636 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20201276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The response to the COVID-19 crisis across most research institutions mandated ceasing nonessential research activities in order to minimize the spread of the virus in our communities. With minimal notice, experiments were terminated, cell lines were frozen, mouse colonies were culled, and trainees were prevented from performing bench research. Still, despite the interruption of experimental productivity, the shutdown has proven for many PIs and trainees that doing and thinking science are not activities that are bound to the laboratory. Furthermore, the shutdowns have solidified important emerging trends and forced us to further innovate to get the most out of working remotely. We hope that some of these innovations, hard-gained in this difficult time, will persist and develop into new paradigms-lessons that will improve our science and our relationship to the climate and community beyond the current pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya S. Freedman
- Department of Pharmacology, Center for Immunology, Masonic Cancer Center, Center for Autoimmune Diseases Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Mark B. Headley
- Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
- Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA
| | - Nina Serwas
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
- University of California, San Francisco ImmunoX Initiative, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Megan Ruhland
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
- University of California, San Francisco ImmunoX Initiative, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Carlos A. Castellanos
- University of California, San Francisco ImmunoX Initiative, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Alexis J. Combes
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
- University of California, San Francisco ImmunoX Initiative, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
- University of California, San Francisco CoLabs, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Matthew F. Krummel
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
- University of California, San Francisco ImmunoX Initiative, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
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32
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Affiliation(s)
- May C I van Schalkwyk
- Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Thomas R Hird
- Tobacco Control Research Group, Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, England, United Kingdom
| | - Nason Maani
- Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Mark Petticrew
- Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Anna B Gilmore
- Tobacco Control Research Group, Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, England, United Kingdom
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33
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Abdill RJ, Adamowicz EM, Blekhman R. International authorship and collaboration across bioRxiv preprints. eLife 2020; 9:e58496. [PMID: 32716295 PMCID: PMC7384855 DOI: 10.7554/elife.58496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Preprints are becoming well established in the life sciences, but relatively little is known about the demographics of the researchers who post preprints and those who do not, or about the collaborations between preprint authors. Here, based on an analysis of 67,885 preprints posted on bioRxiv, we find that some countries, notably the United States and the United Kingdom, are overrepresented on bioRxiv relative to their overall scientific output, while other countries (including China, Russia, and Turkey) show lower levels of bioRxiv adoption. We also describe a set of 'contributor countries' (including Uganda, Croatia and Thailand): researchers from these countries appear almost exclusively as non-senior authors on international collaborations. Lastly, we find multiple journals that publish a disproportionate number of preprints from some countries, a dynamic that almost always benefits manuscripts from the US.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Abdill
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of MinnesotaMinneapolisUnited States
| | - Elizabeth M Adamowicz
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of MinnesotaMinneapolisUnited States
| | - Ran Blekhman
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of MinnesotaMinneapolisUnited States
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of MinnesotaMinneapolisUnited States
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34
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Massey DS, Opare MA, Wallach JD, Ross JS, Krumholz HM. Assessment of Preprint Policies of Top-Ranked Clinical Journals. JAMA Netw Open 2020; 3:e2011127. [PMID: 32697320 PMCID: PMC7376388 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.11127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Dorothy S. Massey
- Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Michelle A. Opare
- Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Joshua D. Wallach
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Joseph S. Ross
- Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
- Section of General Medicine and the National Clinician Scholars Program, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Harlan M. Krumholz
- Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
- Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
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35
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Lin J, Yu Y, Zhou Y, Zhou Z, Shi X. How many preprints have actually been printed and why: a case study of computer science preprints on arXiv. Scientometrics 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11192-020-03430-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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36
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Fraser N, Momeni F, Mayr P, Peters I. The relationship between bioRxiv preprints, citations and altmetrics. QUANTITATIVE SCIENCE STUDIES 2020. [DOI: 10.1162/qss_a_00043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
A potential motivation for scientists to deposit their scientific work as preprints is to enhance its citation or social impact. In this study we assessed the citation and altmetric advantage of bioRxiv, a preprint server for the biological sciences. We retrieved metadata of all bioRxiv preprints deposited between November 2013 and December 2017, and matched them to articles that were subsequently published in peer-reviewed journals. Citation data from Scopus and altmetric data from Altmetric.com were used to compare citation and online sharing behavior of bioRxiv preprints, their related journal articles, and nondeposited articles published in the same journals. We found that bioRxiv-deposited journal articles had sizably higher citation and altmetric counts compared to nondeposited articles. Regression analysis reveals that this advantage is not explained by multiple explanatory variables related to the articles’ publication venues and authorship. Further research will be required to establish whether such an effect is causal in nature. bioRxiv preprints themselves are being directly cited in journal articles, regardless of whether the preprint has subsequently been published in a journal. bioRxiv preprints are also shared widely on Twitter and in blogs, but remain relatively scarce in mainstream media and Wikipedia articles, in comparison to peer-reviewed journal articles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Fraser
- ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, Kiel, Germany
| | - Fakhri Momeni
- GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Cologne, Germany
| | - Philipp Mayr
- GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Cologne, Germany
| | - Isabella Peters
- ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, Kiel, Germany
- Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
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37
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Herman E, Akeroyd J, Bequet G, Nicholas D, Watkinson A. The changed – and changing – landscape of serials publishing: Review of the literature on emerging models. LEARNED PUBLISHING 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/leap.1288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eti Herman
- CIBER Research Ltd Newbury, Berkshire RG147RU UK
| | - John Akeroyd
- CIBER Research Ltd Newbury, Berkshire RG147RU UK
| | - Gaelle Bequet
- ISSN International Centre/CIEPS/Centro internacional del ISSN 45 Rue de Turbigo, 75003 Paris France
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38
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Fu DY, Hughey JJ. Releasing a preprint is associated with more attention and citations for the peer-reviewed article. eLife 2019; 8:52646. [PMID: 31808742 DOI: 10.1101/699652v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Preprints in biology are becoming more popular, but only a small fraction of the articles published in peer-reviewed journals have previously been released as preprints. To examine whether releasing a preprint on bioRxiv was associated with the attention and citations received by the corresponding peer-reviewed article, we assembled a dataset of 74,239 articles, 5,405 of which had a preprint, published in 39 journals. Using log-linear regression and random-effects meta-analysis, we found that articles with a preprint had, on average, a 49% higher Altmetric Attention Score and 36% more citations than articles without a preprint. These associations were independent of several other article- and author-level variables (such as scientific subfield and number of authors), and were unrelated to journal-level variables such as access model and Impact Factor. This observational study can help researchers and publishers make informed decisions about how to incorporate preprints into their work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darwin Y Fu
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United States
| | - Jacob J Hughey
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United States
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United States
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39
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Fu DY, Hughey JJ. Releasing a preprint is associated with more attention and citations for the peer-reviewed article. eLife 2019; 8:52646. [PMID: 31808742 PMCID: PMC6914335 DOI: 10.7554/elife.52646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Preprints in biology are becoming more popular, but only a small fraction of the articles published in peer-reviewed journals have previously been released as preprints. To examine whether releasing a preprint on bioRxiv was associated with the attention and citations received by the corresponding peer-reviewed article, we assembled a dataset of 74,239 articles, 5,405 of which had a preprint, published in 39 journals. Using log-linear regression and random-effects meta-analysis, we found that articles with a preprint had, on average, a 49% higher Altmetric Attention Score and 36% more citations than articles without a preprint. These associations were independent of several other article- and author-level variables (such as scientific subfield and number of authors), and were unrelated to journal-level variables such as access model and Impact Factor. This observational study can help researchers and publishers make informed decisions about how to incorporate preprints into their work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darwin Y Fu
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United States
| | - Jacob J Hughey
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United States.,Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United States
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40
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Bolton-King RS, Kara H, Cassella JP, Rankin BW, Morgan RM, Burke S, Fripp D, Kaye JP. Increasing the accessibility and impact of justice-related student and practitioner research. Forensic Sci Int Synerg 2019; 2:60-71. [PMID: 32412000 PMCID: PMC7219186 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2019.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2018] [Revised: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Much good quality research by pre-doctoral students and case-work focused practitioners remains unpublished. However, their findings could contribute to the evidence base underpinning science and practice within international justice system contexts. There are two main challenges to making findings accessible: reaching all criminal justice stakeholders, and encouraging collaborative efforts in research addressing 'real world' problems. This article presents the rationale for a new, open access repository. The aim is to share good quality pre-doctoral and practitioner criminal justice research across traditional disciplinary and international borders. Such a repository should be easy to use, well maintained and sustainable. Its reach, value and impact also need to be measurable. We present the major considerations relating to the operation and workflow of such a repository, and outline the potential value, benefits and limitations. Our research suggests that the proposed repository could foster interdisciplinary and collaborative work to benefit global justice systems and societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel S. Bolton-King
- Department of Criminal Justice & Forensic Science, Staffordshire University, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 2DF, UK
| | | | | | - Brian W.J. Rankin
- Chair of Quality Standards, Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences and Chair of KTN Special Interest Group Forensic Science, UK
| | - Ruth M. Morgan
- Department of Security and Crime Science, UCL Centre for the Forensic Sciences, University College London, 35 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9EZ, UK
| | | | - Dom Fripp
- Jisc, Tower Hill, Bristol, BS2 0JA, UK
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41
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Poremski D, Falissard B, Fegert J, Witt A, Ordóñez AE, Martin A, Fung DSS. Moving from 'personal communication' to 'available online at': preprint servers enhance the timeliness of scientific exchange. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 2019; 13:42. [PMID: 31695746 PMCID: PMC6823936 DOI: 10.1186/s13034-019-0301-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Poremski
- 0000 0004 0469 9592grid.414752.1Health Intelligence Unit, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Bruno Falissard
- 0000 0001 2175 4109grid.50550.35CESP INSERM U1018, Université Paris-Saclay, AP-HP, Paris, France
| | - Jörg Fegert
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Andreas Witt
- 0000 0004 1936 9748grid.6582.9Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Anna E. Ordóñez
- 0000 0004 0464 0574grid.416868.5Office of Clinical Research, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD USA
| | - Andrés Martin
- 0000000419368710grid.47100.32Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT USA
| | - Daniel Shuen Sheng Fung
- 0000 0004 0469 9592grid.414752.1Health Intelligence Unit, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, Singapore ,0000 0001 2180 6431grid.4280.eYong Loo Lin School of Medicine and DUKE NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore ,0000 0001 2224 0361grid.59025.3bLee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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42
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse M. Alston
- Program in Ecology, Department of Zoology & PhysiologyUniversity of Wyoming Laramie Wyoming
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43
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Chiarelli A, Johnson R, Pinfield S, Richens E. Preprints and Scholarly Communication: Adoption, Practices, Drivers and Barriers. F1000Res 2019; 8:971. [PMID: 32055396 PMCID: PMC6961415 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.19619.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Since 2013, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of preprint servers available online. To date, little is known about the position of researchers, funders, research performing organisations and other stakeholders with respect to this fast-paced landscape. In this article, we explore the benefits and challenges of preprint posting, along with issues such as infrastructure and financial sustainability. We also discuss the definition of a 'preprint' in different communities, and the impact this has on further uptake. Methods: This study is based on 38 detailed semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders based on a purposive heterogeneous sampling approach. Interviews were undertaken between October 2018 and January 2019. These were recorded, transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis to identify trends. Interview questions were designed based on Innovation Diffusion Theory, which is also used to interpret the results of this study. Results: Our study is the first using empirical data to understand the new wave of preprint servers and found that early and fast dissemination is the most appealing feature of the practice. The main concerns are related to the lack of quality assurance and the 'Ingelfinger rule'. We identified trust as an essential enabler of preprint posting and stress the enabling role of Twitter in showcasing preprints and enabling comments on these. Conclusions: The preprints landscape is evolving fast and disciplinary communities are at different stages in the innovation diffusion process. The landscape is characterised by significant experimentation, which leads to the conclusion that a one-size-fits-all approach to preprints is not feasible. Cooperation and active engagement between the stakeholders involved will play an important role in the future. In our paper, we share questions for the further development of the preprints landscape, with the most important being whether preprint posting will develop as a publisher- or researcher-centric practice.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rob Johnson
- Research Consulting Limited, Nottingham, NG7 2TU, UK
| | - Stephen Pinfield
- Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 4DP, UK
| | - Emma Richens
- Research Consulting Limited, Nottingham, NG7 2TU, UK
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Ronit A. The Response of the Peer Review System to the Ebola and Zika Virus Epidemic. Clin Infect Dis 2019; 65:872-873. [PMID: 29017275 DOI: 10.1093/cid/cix444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Ronit
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
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Abstract
A wide range of disciplines are building preprint services—web-based systems that enable publishing non peer-reviewed scholarly manuscripts before publication in a peer-reviewed journal. We have quantitatively surveyed nine of the largest English language preprint services offered by the Center for Open Science (COS) and available through an Application Programming Interface. All of the services we investigate also permit the submission of postprints, non-typeset versions of peer-reviewed manuscripts. Data indicates that all services are growing, but with submission rates below more mature services (e.g., bioRxiv). The trend of the preprint-to-postprint ratio for each service indicates that recent growth is a result of more preprint submissions. The nine COS services we investigate host papers that appear in a range of peer-reviewed journals, and many of these publication venues are not listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals. As a result, COS services function as open repositories for peer-reviewed papers that would otherwise be behind a paywall. We further analyze the coauthorship network for each COS service, which indicates that the services have many small connected components, and the largest connected component encompasses only a small percentage of total authors on each service. When comparing the papers submitted to each service, we observe topic overlap measured by keywords self-assigned to each manuscript, indicating that search functionalities would benefit from cutting across the boundaries of a single service. Finally, though annotation capabilities are integrated into all COS services, it is rarely used by readers. Our analysis of these services can be a benchmark for future studies of preprint service growth.
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Abdill RJ, Blekhman R. Rxivist.org: Sorting biology preprints using social media and readership metrics. PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000269. [PMID: 31112533 PMCID: PMC6546241 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Preprints have arrived. In increasing numbers, researchers across the life sciences are embracing the once-niche practice, shaking off decades of reluctance and posting hundreds of papers per week to preprint servers, sharing their findings with the community before embarking on the weary march through peer review. However, there are limited methods for individuals sifting through this avalanche of research to identify the preprints that are most relevant to their interests. Here, we describe Rxivist.org, a website that indexes all preprints posted to bioRxiv.org, the largest preprint server in the life sciences, and allows users to filter and sort papers based on download metrics and Twitter activity over a variety of categories and time periods. In this work, we hope to make it easier for readers to find relevant research on bioRxiv and to improve the visibility of preprints currently being read and discussed online. This Community Page article describes Rxivist.org, a new website that indexes all preprints posted to bioRxiv.org and allows users to filter and sort papers based on download metrics and Twitter activity over a variety of categories and time periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J. Abdill
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Ran Blekhman
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Abdill RJ, Blekhman R. Tracking the popularity and outcomes of all bioRxiv preprints. eLife 2019; 8:45133. [PMID: 31017570 PMCID: PMC6510536 DOI: 10.7554/elife.45133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The growth of preprints in the life sciences has been reported widely and is driving policy changes for journals and funders, but little quantitative information has been published about preprint usage. Here, we report how we collected and analyzed data on all 37,648 preprints uploaded to bioRxiv.org, the largest biology-focused preprint server, in its first five years. The rate of preprint uploads to bioRxiv continues to grow (exceeding 2,100 in October 2018), as does the number of downloads (1.1 million in October 2018). We also find that two-thirds of preprints posted before 2017 were later published in peer-reviewed journals, and find a relationship between the number of downloads a preprint has received and the impact factor of the journal in which it is published. We also describe Rxivist.org, a web application that provides multiple ways to interact with preprint metadata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Abdill
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
| | - Ran Blekhman
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States.,Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
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49
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Fralick M, Sacks CA. Publicising trial results before peer review. BMJ 2019; 364:l556. [PMID: 30755405 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.l556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Fralick
- Eliot Phillipson Clinician Scientist Training Program, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Chana A Sacks
- Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Sarabipour S, Debat HJ, Emmott E, Burgess SJ, Schwessinger B, Hensel Z. On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective. PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000151. [PMID: 30789895 PMCID: PMC6400415 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarvenaz Sarabipour
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Humberto J. Debat
- Center of Agronomic Research, National Institute of Agricultural Technology (IPAVE-CIAP-INTA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Edward Emmott
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Steven J. Burgess
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Benjamin Schwessinger
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Zach Hensel
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
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