Preprints in times of COVID19: The time is ripe for agreeing on terminology and good practices

Authors

Raffaella Ravinetto, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
Céline Caillet, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Muhammad H. Zaman, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Jerome Amir Singh, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Philippe J. Guerin, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Aasim Ahmad, Aga Khan University
Carlos E. Durán, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
Amar Jesani, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, Mumbai, India
Ana Palmero, Center for the Study of the State and Society, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Laura Merson, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Document Type

Article

Department

Nephrology

Abstract

Over recent years, the research community has been increasingly using preprint servers to share manuscripts that are not yet peer-reviewed. Even if it enables quick dissemination of research findings, this practice raises several challenges in publication ethics and integrity. In particular, preprints have become an important source of information for stakeholders interested in COVID19 research developments, including traditional media, social media, and policy makers. Despite caveats about their nature, many users can still confuse pre-prints with peer-reviewed manuscripts. If unconfirmed but already widely shared first-draft results later prove wrong or misinterpreted, it can be very difficult to "unlearn" what we thought was true. Complexity further increases if unconfirmed findings have been used to inform guidelines. To help achieve a balance between early access to research findings and its negative consequences, we formulated five recommendations: (a) consensus should be sought on a term clearer than 'pre-print', such as 'Unrefereed manuscript', "Manuscript awaiting peer review" or ''Non-reviewed manuscript"; (b) Caveats about unrefereed manuscripts should be prominent on their first page, and each page should include a red watermark stating 'Caution-Not Peer Reviewed'; (c) pre-print authors should certify that their manuscript will be submitted to a peer-review journal, and should regularly update the manuscript status; (d) high level consultations should be convened, to formulate clear principles and policies for the publication and dissemination of non-peer reviewed research results; (e) in the longer term, an international initiative to certify servers that comply with good practices could be envisaged.

Comments

Pagination are not provided by the author/publisher

Publication (Name of Journal)

BMC Medical Ethics

Recommended Citation

Ravinetto, R., Caillet, C., Zaman, M. H., Singh, J. A., Guerin, P. J., Ahmad, A., Durán, C. E., Jesani, A., Palmero, A., Merson, L. (2021). Preprints in times of COVID19: The time is ripe for agreeing on terminology and good practices. BMC Medical Ethics, 22(1), 106.
Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_med_nephrol/74

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.