Preprints

 A preprint could either be a version that has been submitted for publication or a version that will be further developed before being submitted for publication. Some preprints are never submitted for publication. Preprints are different from working papers, which can be broadly described as research papers that have not been peer-reviewed that tend to be less complete than preprints. 

Preprints are acknowledged to be a mechanism for the rapid communication of research findings as well as a means for researchers to gather feedback on their research. By sharing their preprints, researchers are not only actively participating in and contributing to Open Research but are also benefitting from sharing and promoting their research. 

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have been sharing preprints of their research for some time by publishing these preprints on preprint servers. Now it is possible for them to accurately record their preprints on the university’s current research information system (CRIS), Pure, which includes their preprints in their publication list and make these preprints publicly available on the university’s research portal (Edinburgh Research Explorer).  

Researchers are encouraged to continue publishing their preprints to established subject preprint servers and for preprints that need be immediately disseminated they can publish their preprint on the Edinburgh Research Explorer without prior publication on a preprint server. 

Some funding organisations like the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Wellcome Trust encourage the sharing of preprints. Researchers are advised to check the policies of these funding organisations for any specific requirements for preprints.  

• MRC and preprints 

• Wellcome Trust open access policy 

A list of preprint servers that includes their disciplinary scope and policies is available on the ASAPbio Preprint server directory. 

Please refer to the [Add research output – preprint guide] when adding a record for your preprint to Pure.