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Preprints: Home

A preprint usually refers to a preliminary or draft version of a scientific paper.

  • A preprint may precede formal peer review and publication in a peer-reviewed scholarly or scientific journal. Some preprints remain as the only version of an academic work.
  • The preprint may be available, often as a non-typeset version available free, before and/or after a paper is published in a journal and hosted on an institutional or subject repository,
  • Some repositories do moderate the content of the preprint before hosting a copy.

Advantages of using preprint servers for scholars:

  • Early and fast dissemination
  • Increased opportunities for feedback before submitting a manuscript for peer review

Concerns for the reader/public:

  • Lack of quality assurance (peer review)
  • Potential for media to report inaccurate research
  • Indexing or discoverability is limited
  • Responsibility for long-term curation of preprints is not clear

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A. Chiarelli, R. Johnson, E. Richens, S. Pinfield, “The accelerating scholarly communication: The transformative role of preprints,” Knowledge Exchange, 2019. https:doi105281/zenodo.3357727

How to cite a Preprint

IEEE Format
Print - unpublished conference paper

R. Sosa and P. K. Wang, “Creativity awareness in engineering schools in Asia,” presented at the Proc. of International Conf. on Advanced Design Research and Education (ICADRE14), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Singapore, 2014.

Online - unpublished conference paper

M. C. Best, "Linear MIMO model identification using an extended Kalman filter," presented at the ICMICE 2015: 17th International Conference on Modelling, Identification and Control Engineering. Accessed on: Nov. 17, 2013. [Online]. Available: https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/handle/2134/17386

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Conference proceedings - IEEE Referencing - Library Guides at Victoria University (vu.edu.au)

Preprint Repositories