In 2020, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began Phase 1 of the NIH Preprint Pilot. Phase 1 of this project, which occurred between June 2020 and June 2022, saw more than 3,300 preprint records reporting NIH-funded research on the SARS-CoV2 virus and COVID-19 added to PubMed and PubMed Central (PMC). In the early days (or perhaps it’s more appropriate to say “years”) of the pandemic, as each day we entered uncharted territory, rapid dissemination of any research on this new entity was critical to the understanding and decision-making surrounding the virus. Discoverability of preprints in PubMed and PMC contributed to the timely access of NIH-supported research on COVID-19. During this time, the pilot preprints were viewed 3 million times in PubMed and 4 million times in PMC.1
Building upon the success of Phase 1, the NIH announced that Phase 2 of the Preprint Pilot will launch in early 2023. Phase 2 will allow preprints of all NIH-supported research, on any subject matter, that has been voluntarily posted to an eligible preprint server on/after January 1, 2023, to be included in PubMed and PMC. To understand the significance of this move, it’s important to know what preprints are and how they may affect your literature searching and research.
Preprints are complete and public drafts of scientific documents (most likely articles) that have not yet been peer reviewed. A preprint is posted by the author of the document to a preprint server. There are a number of preprint servers currently in operation, but the most common in the biomedical field are bioRxiv and medRxiv. Phase 2 of the NIH Preprint Pilot will pull from both of those servers in addition to arXiv and Research Square. Responsible preprint servers clearly state that their content is not peer-reviewed and should not be used to guide clinical practice or be reported on in the media as established information.
So, if preprints should not be used to inform practice, you may be asking yourself – what’s the point of them? As mentioned earlier, one of their purposes is to allow for the rapid dissemination of research in emergency situations. Additional touted benefits include the ability for an author to establish priority on a topic (not get scooped!), encourage critical feedback from peers, and because all preprints are open access, they provide an opportunity to participate in open science.2
As a user of research, it’s important to approach preprints with caution. Remember, this information has not been peer-reviewed, therefore the research may be flawed or of poor quality, two things that are often caught in the peer-review process. Be prepared to think critically about this information. If you find a tempting bit of information in a preprint, try to locate additional studies to corroborate the evidence and lend credibility. Finally, if you choose to reference a preprint in your research, always include either an in-text disclaimer that the information is from a preprint, or clearly indicate “preprint” with the citation in your bibliography.
As more preprints make their way into PubMed and PMC, there are tools you can use to identify them in your search results. When you run a search in PubMed, in the Limits along the left side of the page there is an “Additional Filters” option. If you click on this button, within the “Other” option, you can choose an “Exclude preprints” filter that can be applied to your search results. Conversely, you can also limit to viewing only preprints by selecting “Preprint” from the Article Type limit. With either option, once it displays in your limits, you will have to check the box to apply it to your search results.
To call attention to their status, all preprints in PubMed and PMC are clearly labeled with a large green disclaimer at the top of the abstract page (example below). It’s also safe to assume if the publication source listed on an article is bioRxiv or medRxiv, the article is from a preprint server.
There is a lot yet to be determined about how preprints will affect research and publication practices. Stay tuned to the Sladen Blog for a future post on what authors should be aware of when considering whether or not to post their research article to a preprint server.
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