Perceived benefits and concerns about preprints – initial survey results
We had 546 responses to our survey about the perceived benefits and concerns around preprint – our thanks to everyone who shared their views. We will be taking a deeper dive into the data over the coming weeks but here are some initial takes from the responses:
- Main perceived benefits: increased speed of research communication, preprints are free to read, additional exposure for research, opportunity for feedback.
- Main perceived concerns: premature media coverage of preprints, publicly sharing information before peer review, uncertainty about copyright and licensing, information overload.
- Preprint authors are less likely to have concerns than those who have not posted a preprint, and score the perceived benefits more highly.
Want to find out more? Read our blog post for a summary of our initial observations and to access a dashboard for the data.
Join our August Community Call to discuss preprints in the media
Our next community call will take place on August 27 (noon Eastern, 5pm BST) with the theme ‘Preprints in the media’.
As the results from the survey show, media coverage is one of the main concerns around preprints; during the call, we will discuss preprints and the media with James Fraser, Professor at University of California San Francisco, and with the science journalist Roxanne Khamsi. We will also request feedback on the issues and on approaches that can help mitigate and address potential concerns, we look forward to hearing your views!
The last section of the call will cover updates from Community members, if you have a preprint project you’d like to share, please add it to the agenda.
Register for the Community Call
The #biopreprints2020 report is open for feedback
We are delighted that the report summarising the work and recommendations from the #biopreprints2020 workshop is now available as a preprint: ‘Building trust in preprints: recommendations for serves and other stakeholders‘.
The report outlines the recommendations for preprint metadata, definitions for withdrawal and removal of preprints, data availability statements, versioning and review events in the context of preprints. We thank the workshop participants and the representatives of additional preprint services for their contributions to this resource.
We’ll look to incorporate feedback into a future revision of the report and thus we very much welcome comments and suggestions.
Comparing journal-independent review services
There are a number of platforms, journals and services that offer feedback, commentary, and peer review of preprints. This type of journal-independent review is focused on a constructive evaluation of the research rather than an assessment of journal match, it provides readers with additional context about the paper and can speed up editorial decisions if the work is later on submitted to a journal.
Learn more about the different modalities, and how they compare and differ at our blog post about the four services provided by eLife‘s Preprint Review, Peerage of Science, Peer Community In and Review Commons of EMBO and ASAPbio.
Meet the ASAPbio Fellows
Yamini Yogalakshmi
What is your current role? Tell us a bit about your line of research.
An early stage researcher working on interdisciplinary projects, at the interface of cell biology and biophysics. My academic training includes a Masters of Technology specializing in Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering, from NIT-Rourkela, India and a Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology from SRM University-Chennai, India. Currently, I am a 4th year PhD scholar working between the labs of Sandrine Etienne-Manneville at Institut Pasteur and Bruno Goud at Institut Curie. My PhD project is titled “Isoforms of Cdc42: function, localization and regulation” and is funded by the Marie-Curie Horizon 2020 network Polarnet-ITN. Cdc42 is a small GTPase protein regulating cell polarization events. Interestingly, Cdc42’s C-terminal which is differs for both the isoforms comprises of a CAAX box which allows it to anchor to membranes. My key objective is to understand the functions of these isoforms dependent on their subcellular localization dependent on their CAAX box sequences.
What are you excited about in science communication?
Science communication, the ability to share, educate and promote scientific studies is exciting in itself. However, what keeps me ticking in this field is the ability to raise awareness of science-related topics. One such polarizing topic is scientific publishing. I am always eager to understand what goes behind the arcane publishing process and what are the ongoing efforts to better this process and eventually be a part of the dissemination of information related to speeding up scientific publication.
Why did you choose to participate in the ASAPbio Fellows program?
Open Science and instrumental tools such as preprints, I believe are the way forward within the biological scientific community. Mainly with the motive to accelerate the conventional publishing process in place. Therefore, I wanted to join the ASAPbio Fellows program to be able to learn more about preprints and initiatives behind open dissemination of scientific work. I also thought it would be a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and be part of a group working towards enabling faster scientific communication. I have previously been part of the ASAPbio Ambassadors community and have always learnt a lot from the projects carried out by the network in the past.
Ask me about…
Open science, preprints, Cell polarity, or even life in Paris.
Sarah Stryeck
What is your current role? Tell us a bit about your line of research
I did my PhD in integrative structural biology and metabolism research. During that time, I performed a large number of NMR-based metabolomics experiments for different collaboration partners which was challenging to manage. Currently, I am employed as a postdoctoral researcher in data stewardship where I am deploying a cyberinfrastructure to ensure transparent, reproducible, biological research. In addition, I am also involved in biological research projects in the life sciences (e.g. caloric restriction mimetics) where I am mainly contributing with bioinformatics data analysis.
What are you excited about in science communication?
In my current position, I am working a lot with researchers to help them with research data management and data analytics tools. In this job, it is essential to transfer the knowledge about research concepts and data to technical staff in order to develop community-driven tools that offer exactly what researchers need. This science communication ensures that technical infrastructures are not only implemented, but co-creation and open participation of researchers in the implementation process foster the cultural change that is needed.
Why did you choose to participate in the ASAPbio Fellows program?
I chose to participate in the ASAPbio Fellows program to get involved in a community interested in improving transparency and communication of life science research. As a data steward, I am mainly focusing on research data management and reproducible research, however, I am keen to learn more about the preprint landscape and innovative ways to publish. This will help me spread the world amongst the research community I am working with.
Ask me about…
Big Data.
Fabio Palmieri
What is your current role? Tell us a bit about your line of research.
I’m currently finishing my PhD in microbiology in the group of Pilar Junier at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Regarding my line of research, I’m interested in Bacterial-Fungal Interactions in the soil ecosystem and in human health, and for the latter more specifically in host-microbe/host-pathogen interactions. I’m currently working on developing a bacterial control alternative to fight against pulmonary aspergillosis, instead of using antifungal drugs.
What are you excited about in science communication?
I’m really excited about sharing and communicating science in all its forms: lay communication, posters, presentations, articles, but also in promoting a broader adoption of preprints in the life sciences as a means to share results quickly to the community.
Why did you choose to participate in the ASAPbio Fellows program?
I chose to participate in the ASAPbio Fellows program because I’m interested in learning more about preprints in order to be a contact point for questions related to preprinting at my institution. I also want to create and run a preprint journal club in my doctoral program as a means of training on how to review a paper, which is an important skill to acquire as an early career scientist.
Ask me about…
I like reading books, watching series, cooking and hiking.
News roundup
‘Covid-19 Shows That Scientific Journals Need to Open Up’ – Justin Fox discusses the history of publishing and recent moves towards more openness in research communication, including preprints.
‘How to identify flawed research before it becomes dangerous‘ – Mike Eisen and Robert Tibshirani discuss challenges around the dissemination of early research to the public and suggest creating a rapid-review service for preprints of broad public interest.
