Open Access publisher PeerJ has launched 'PeerJ PrePrints' an entirely new 'preprint server' for the Biological and Medical Sciences. With the launch of PeerJ PrePrints, the publication ecosystem of PeerJ is now complete.
For an academic article, publication in a peer reviewed journal is simply the end point in what has typically been a lengthy process of drafts, comments from colleagues, and revisions. The physical sciences have, for a long time, circulated these drafts (or 'preprints') amongst their colleagues in a community-wide practice which culminated in the creation of the successful arXiv preprint server. However, despite the apparent benefits of gaining early feedback, preprint servers have not taken off in the Biological or Medical sciences. Although there have been several experiments, for example by Nature Preceedings or the BMJ's NetPrints.org, the biological and medical fields have so far failed to embrace preprints in the same way that their physical sciences colleagues have done.
Despite this history, it is the belief of PeerJ that an increased awareness of the benefits of early and open sharing, combined with advances in the ease of online publishing, means that the time is right for the biological and medical sciences to finally take advantage of a preprint server dedicated to their fields. By doing so, authors can establish their priority, seek wider feedback, distribute their work in advance of formal publication and develop a stronger narrative before submitting that work to a formal peer-reviewed journal.
Other than passing a basic vetting process, PeerJ PrePrints are not peer reviewed, and so should not be viewed as a formal publication. However, all PeerJ PrePrints receive a permanent, stable identifier (a Digital Object Identifier) and are formally archived for long term preservation.
All PeerJ PrePrints publications are issued under a Creative Commons CC-BY license and publication in PeerJ PrePrints is free for all PeerJ Members. Authors wishing to experience the future of publishing can now submit PeerJ PrePrint articles at https://peerj.com/preprints and they can submit PeerJ journal articles, for formal peer review, at https://peerj.com/.
