[论文解读] Is preprint the future of science? A thirty year journey of online preprint services

Boya Xie, Z. Shen+1 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Feb 17, 2021

Academic Publishing and Open Access参考文献 25被引用 34

一句话总结

该论文定量分析了在线预印本服务的三十年，显示指数级增长、预印本更早可见且引用更高，以及与同行评议工作质量相当。它强调了预印本在快速信息共享中的作用，包括在公共卫生紧急情况期间。

ABSTRACT

Preprint is a version of a scientific paper that is publicly distributed preceding formal peer review. Since the launch of arXiv in 1991, preprints have been increasingly distributed over the Internet as opposed to paper copies. It allows open online access to disseminate the original research within a few days, often at a very low operating cost. This work overviews how preprint has been evolving and impacting the research community over the past thirty years alongside the growth of the Web. In this work, we first report that the number of preprints has exponentially increased 63 times in 30 years, although it only accounts for 4% of research articles. Second, we quantify the benefits that preprints bring to authors: preprints reach an audience 14 months earlier on average and associate with five times more citations compared with a non-preprint counterpart. Last, to address the quality concern of preprints, we discover that 41% of preprints are ultimately published at a peer-reviewed destination, and the published venues are as influential as papers without a preprint version. Additionally, we discuss the unprecedented role of preprints in communicating the latest research data during recent public health emergencies. In conclusion, we provide quantitative evidence to unveil the positive impact of preprints on individual researchers and the community. Preprints make scholarly communication more efficient by disseminating scientific discoveries more rapidly and widely with the aid of Web technologies. The measurements we present in this study can help researchers and policymakers make informed decisions about how to effectively use and responsibly embrace a preprint culture.

研究动机与目标

• 评估1991–2020年跨学科在线预印本服务的增长与采用情况。
• 量化预印本对作者早期可见性和引用次数的影响。
• 通过发表率和期刊影响因子评估预印本的感知与实际质量。
• 在公共卫生事件期间考察预印本在快速传播中的作用。
• 提供证据以为负责任的预印本采用的政策与实践提供参考。

提出的方法

• 从Microsoft Academic Graph (MAG)构建一个大规模、跨学科的预印本数据集，覆盖2.8百万篇预印本和6,980万篇同行评议文章（1991–2020）。
• 将论文分为P-only、JC-only和P-JC组，并计算派生指标（如发表天数、引用数）。
• 衡量年度预印本增长和领域层面的采用情况；比较预印本被引用的论文与未被引用的论文。
• 分析预印本发表率和目标期刊的影响因子，以评估质量信号。
• 在COVID-19/健康紧急情况期间考察预印本的使用，以说明快速传播的好处。

实验结果

研究问题

• RQ1 1991–2020年在线预印本的增长轨迹是什么，在不同学科之间有何差异？
• RQ2 与没有预印本的论文相比，预印本是否提供了更早的可见性和更高的引用数？
• RQ3 最终在同行评议刊物发表的预印本所占比重有多大，以及这些刊物的质量信号如何？
• RQ4 预印本在像COVID-19这样的公共卫生紧急情况中如何促进快速传播？

主要发现

• 预印本数量从1991年的约3,000篇增长到2019年的227,000篇，2020年前九个月就有192,000篇预印本。
• 预印本在抵达受众方面平均比其期刊/会议出版提前14个月。
• P-JC论文的引用中位数为14.8次，而JC-only论文为2.6次，平均引用大约高出五倍。
• 41%的预印本最终发表在同行评议的刊物中，物理与数学领域的发表率在各领域中最高。
• 生物学领域最近出现上升趋势，发表率从23%上升到超过80%（2017年）。
• P-JC论文倾向于在与JC-all论文相当或更高影响因子的刊物上发表，表明刊物质量相似或更好。
• 在COVID-19期间，预印本在传播结果方面发挥了关键作用，在各平台的广泛 uptake 和快速共享。