Preprints are in PubMed
On the topic of preprints, “how do I find them?” remains one of the most common questions. While several search tools already index preprints, many require researchers to look outside of their normal workflows.
On June 9, the National Library of Medicine announced a pilot to include NIH-funded preprints in PubMed and PMC beginning this week. While the NIH has been encouraging the use of preprints for years, this launch, detailed in a post on the NLM Director’s blog, marks the first time these research objects have been discoverable alongside peer-reviewed articles in major NIH databases. Below, Kathryn Funk, Program Manager of PubMed Central (PMC) at the National Library of Medicine (NLM), NIH, answers some of our questions about this project.
Join the June Community call
We will be holding our first ASAPbio Community call on 18 June 2020 at noon EST/5pm BST. Register for the call here.
At the call, we will be providing an overview of the #biopreprints2020 workshop and the recommendations that workshop attendees have been working on. We will also be seeking your feedback on the draft recommendations for different areas of preprint practice, we look forward to hearing your views!
We also hope the Community Calls will provide a forum for community members to exchange updates and get input on preprint-related projects, if you gave a project you’d like to talk about, please do add it to the agenda.
Temporary role: ASAPbio Project Coordinator
We’re looking for a project coordinator help convene online working groups and events about preprints in the media. To learn more, see the full posting here.
We’ve refreshed our FAQ
When we first launched our Preprint FAQ in 2016, the biology preprint landscape looked dramatically different from its present form, both in terms of its usage and prominence among researchers as well as its integration into scholarly communication workflows. While we’ve made periodic updates, the whole package was due for a refresh.
We’ve been honored to work with a group of attendees of #bioPreprints2020 to thoroughly revise the FAQ, both revisiting existing questions and adding new ones (including, for example, questions about patents, double blind review, setting journal policy on preprints, and a checklist for submitting preprints). If you haven’t visited in a while, check it out and let us know (by emailing jessica.polka@asapbio.org) what’s missing!
Thanks to Oya Rieger, Alex Mendonça, Emily Marchant, Iratxe Puebla, John Inglis, Martyn Rittman, Mate Palfy, Sowmya Swaminathan, Alice Meadows, Katie Funk, and Allison Leung for input into this revision.
#ShutDownSTEM
We’re taking time on Wednesday, June 10 to focus on learning and reflecting about how we can work to eradicate anti-Black racism and support diversity, equity, and inclusion.
News roundup
- Europe PMC to include the full text of COVID-19 preprints
- Will the pandemic permanently alter scientific publishing?
- Research on covid-19 is suffering “imperfect incentives at every stage”
- Problems with Preprints: Covering Rough-Draft Manuscripts Responsibly
Events
ASAPbio will participate in
- Jessica will discuss preprints in the time of COVID-19 in the session ‘Preprints and independent peer review services in crisis times’ on June 12 as part of the online EASE meeting.
Other events
- OASPA is hosting the webinar ‘Scholarly Communication & COVID-19: Closing the Loop for Effective Peer Review‘ on June 24.
