{"id":5953,"date":"2019-07-30T09:11:48","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T09:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/?p=5953"},"modified":"2019-07-30T09:11:48","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T09:11:48","slug":"can-preprints-increase-article-citations-and-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/2019\/07\/30\/can-preprints-increase-article-citations-and-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Can preprints increase article citations and impact?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"5954\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/2019\/07\/30\/can-preprints-increase-article-citations-and-impact\/social-media-app-and-social-networks\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Preprints.jpg?fit=836%2C418&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"836,418\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Getty Images\/iStockphoto&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;User social networking and chatting using apps on his smartphone and young people connecting online using their devices: social media and communication technology concept&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1521459663&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Social media app and social networks&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Social media app and social networks\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;User social networking and chatting using apps on his smartphone and young people connecting online using their devices: social media and communication technology concept&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Preprints.jpg?fit=300%2C150&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Preprints.jpg?fit=836%2C418&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5954\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Preprints.jpg?resize=836%2C418&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Social media app and social networks\" width=\"836\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Preprints.jpg?w=836&amp;ssl=1 836w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Preprints.jpg?resize=300%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Preprints.jpg?resize=768%2C384&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There has been much discussion of the potential <a href=\"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/2018\/03\/06\/can-the-automatic-posting-of-preprints-increase-the-pace-of-medical-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">advantages<\/a> and disadvantages of preprints in medical publishing over recent years, and last month\u2019s launch of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medrxiv.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">medRxiv<\/a> was much anticipated. While the community watches with interest to see how this new platform fares, findings from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biorxiv.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bioRxiv<\/a> provide a useful indication of what we might expect to see. For instance, a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biorxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/673665v1.full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">preprint<\/a> posted on the platform reports that papers posted as a preprint before being published in a peer reviewed journal have higher citation levels and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.altmetric.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Altmetric<\/a> scores than other articles.<\/p>\n<p>Nicholas Fraser and his co-authors evaluated articles that had been submitted as preprints to bioRxiv between November 2013 and December 2017. When compared with articles without a preprint, they found that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The number of citations to journal articles with preprints was 61% higher.<\/li>\n<li>The citation advantage continued 3 years after publication, with average monthly citations per paper around 50% higher for articles with a preprint.<\/li>\n<li>Articles with preprints had higher mean counts for all Altmetrics assessed (tweets, blogs, mainstream media outlets, Wikipedia and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mendeley.com\/?interaction_required=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mendeley<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The group also noted that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Further work is needed to identify the cause of this citation advantage, which did not appear to be driven by early access or quality effects.<\/li>\n<li>Although there was a strong preference to cite a published article rather than the corresponding preprint, citations were also made to <a href=\"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/2018\/04\/12\/do-preprints-have-a-place-in-todays-reference-lists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">preprints<\/a> themselves, some of which were not subsequently published in peer reviewed journals. The authors highlight that the increased willingness of researchers to cite unreviewed work may be a consideration in current debates on the role of <a href=\"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/2019\/01\/03\/peer-review-a-step-on-the-road-to-assurance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">peer review<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>bioRxiv preprints themselves were widely shared on Twitter and on blogs, but received far less online attention in mainstream media outlets and Wikipedia than the final peer reviewed articles. Fraser and his colleagues suggest that, while authors are comfortable sharing preprints with their peers using informal media platforms, there may be an unwillingness to disclose non-reviewed research to the public.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>The authors conclude that \u201cIn the continuing online debates surrounding the value of preprints and their role in modern scientific workflows, our results provide support for depositing preprints as a means to extend the reach and impact of work in the scientific community.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div data-opinionstage-embed-url=\"https:\/\/www.opinionstage.com\/api\/v1\/polls\/2560898\/code.json?width=\" style=\"display: none; visibility: hidden;\"><\/div>\n<p>\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n<p>Summary by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aspire-scientific.com\/#team_\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Debbie Sherwood BSc<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aspire-scientific.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aspire Scientific<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n<p>With thanks to our sponsors, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aspire-scientific.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aspire Scientific Ltd<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.networkpharma.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NetworkPharma Ltd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Depositing preprints on bioRxiv results in advantages in terms of citations and Altmetrics, according to recently published findings. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Can #preprints increase article citations and impact? @nicholasmfraser @biorxivpreprint #PubPlan #medcomms #ISMPP ","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_publicize_connection_overrides":[],"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[343162383,30399336],"tags":[343162412,343162425,343162401],"class_list":["post-5953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-and-social-media","category-journal-metrics","tag-altmetrics","tag-biorxiv","tag-citation","post-has-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Preprints.jpg?fit=836%2C418&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Yk5l-1y1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5953"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5955,"href":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5953\/revisions\/5955"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}