Preprint. 5 Step to Successfully Publish Yours

2022-06-03

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A Preprint is a fully drafted research paper that is available as Open Access to all, before it undergoes peer review. Thus, authors are able to share their research quicker as compared to journal publishing, which is a thorough and longer process. The papers published on preprints servers are assigned with DOI and citable at discretion of the user, as the papers have not undergone the scrutiny of a peer reviewer. However, it helps valuable research reach the scholarly community much in time.

The Enago.Academy Portal identified 5 steps to successfully publishing a preprint.

1. Know Your Target Audience, Know Your Paper

Preprints publish articles from various fields of research that deliver original scientific work. The papers can be of different types like, so it is important to know who is the target audience for the preprint paper you are planning to publish. This allows you to set the tone of the paper and will help you choose the correct repository as well.

2. Write an Impactful Title and Abstract

The “Title” and “Abstract” are first to gauge most attention by your audience. Therefore, it is important to write an effective title and abstract for your paper. Keep it concise and informative; it is a concentrated version of the manuscript. Therefore, make sure to keep the abstract detailed and include all aspects of the research. It is essential to keep the abstract unbiased, i.e. you should mention favorable outcomes and results, but also mention any non-significant and adverse data. This gives the author an authoritative right on the research work and help get through the screening process effortlessly.

3. Adhere to Publishing Ethics

Authors must follow the COPE Guidelines and include an objective discussion over the significance of research. Any kind of plagiarism, data fabrication, and image modification (knowingly or unknowingly) is not permitted and the paper will be rejected in the screening process of preprint publishing. Ensure to take copyright permissions for the data used to support the research objectives and declare conflict of interests while submitting the paper for preprint publishing.

4. Authors Must Qualify Authorship and Link Their ORCID

All the authors who contribute to the paper must be aware and agree to the submission to preprint journal. Furthermore, authors should get themselves registered in ORCID and link their ORCID to the preprint repository during the submission process. This increases the authenticity of the published preprint paper and can acquire more recognition and citation.

5. Be Aware of the Details Related to Manuscript Withdrawal

Preprint research papers cannot be withdrawn once published! Although this is true, there are situations in which the paper can be retracted from the preprint server. Preprint papers can be retracted in the following situations:

  • Data fabrication and plagiarism
  • Scientific errors that cannot be corrected by updating the manuscript
  • Copyright violation

In conclusion, publishing preprints is becoming popular, but the process has its pros and cons, and authors are encouraged to make wise choices before deciding what to do with years of hard work creating research data.