Preprints can fill a void in times of rapidly changing science - STAT

Post by Harlan M. Krumholz, M.D., professor of medicine and of public health at the Yale School of Medicine, director of the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation at Yale New Haven Health System, and co-director of the Yale Open Data Access (YODA) Project; Theodora Bloom, Ph.D., executive editor of The BMJ, and Joseph S. Ross, M.D., professor of medicine and of public health at the Yale School of Medicine, a member of the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation at Yale-New Haven Health System, and co-director of the YODA Project

"Preprints are manuscripts describing research that has yet to undergo peer review. Preprint servers are online platforms dedicated to distributing these unreviewed scientific papers.

The advantages of preprints are that scientists can post them rapidly and receive feedback from their peers quickly, sometimes almost instantaneously. They also keep other scientists informed about what their colleagues are doing and build on that work. Preprints are archived in a way that they can be referenced and will always be available online. As the science evolves, newer versions of the paper can be posted, with older historical versions remaining available, including any associated comments made on them."