Preprints versus fully reviewed publications?

[Barbara Foster]

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Dear Listers,
I just read an intriguing article about "preprint" publications, discussing the pros and cons of having early access to scientific research.  One point they made was that having papers available earlier allows the whole community to review and comment.  What are your thought?

Here's the link:http://www.biotechniques.com/news/biotechniquesNews/biotechniques-365411.html#.WG5_ElMrLIU

-Barbara Foster

Microscopy/Microscopy Education  ... "Education, not Training"
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[Craig Brideau]

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I think this would depend heavily on the motivation of peers to volunteer
their time for this informal review process. It also risks the work being
hijacked by the loudest voices rather than (perhaps) the most informed
voices. Wikipedia comes to mind when I think about crowd reviewing and
curation of information, and many people will have differing opinions on
the success or failure of this approach.
Personally I am always uneasy about a 'throw science at the wall and see
what sticks' approach, although I must admit to being guilty of using this
myself at times. @:-)

Craig



On Thu, Jan 5, 2017 at 10:22 AM, Barbara Foster <[hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Dear Listers,
> I just read an intriguing article about "preprint" publications,
> discussing the pros and cons of having early access to scientific
> research.  One point they made was that having papers available earlier
> allows the whole community to review and comment.  What are your thought?
>
> Here's the link:http://www.biotechniques.com/news/biotechniquesNews/
> biotechniques-365411.html#.WG5_ElMrLIU
>
> -Barbara Foster
>
> Microscopy/Microscopy Education  ... "Education, not Training"
> 7101 Royal Glen Trail, Suite A  - McKinney, TX 75070 - P: 972-924-5310
> www.MicroscopyEducation.com
> Microscopy/Microscopy Education is a division of The Microscopy & Imaging
> Place, Inc.
>
>
> NEW!   Getting involved in Raman or FTIR?
> MME is now offering courses in these areas specifically for microscopists!
> Now scheduling courses through the mid 2017.  We can customize a course on
> nearly any topic, from fluorescence to confocal to image analysis to
> SEM/TEM.
> Call today for a free training evaluation.
>

[Seamus Holden-2]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
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The primary point of preprints as I see it is the ASAPBio principle http://asapbio.org/ 
Manuscripts languish in review, revision, etc for very extended periods as we have all no doubt experienced - years in worst cases.

By posting the preprint online at the same time as you do your initial journal submission, everyone gets to see your new data and science can move forward much quicker.

Then it goes through the traditional peer review process and gets the peer review rubber stamp, so the traditional gates of peer review remain in place.

So :
- Preprints --> science moves forward faster
- Expert peer review before journal publication --> science retains its claimed rigour

Everybody wins.
Physicists have been doing this exact approach for many years on the arXiv.

There's other benefits too which I won't go into but worth a google, these include:
- track record of productivity for young scientists
- Non-paywalled preprint version of manuscripts remains available --> open science
- Prepublication publicity (twitter loves a preprint)

I recently made my first preprint submission and my experience was immensely positive. Would recommend.

Dr Seamus Holden
University Research Fellow

Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology
Baddiley-Clark Building
Newcastle University
Richardson Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 4AX, United Kingdom

Phone: [phone]

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Craig Brideau
Sent: 05 January 2017 17:49
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: Preprints versus fully reviewed publications?

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

I think this would depend heavily on the motivation of peers to volunteer their time for this informal review process. It also risks the work being hijacked by the loudest voices rather than (perhaps) the most informed voices. Wikipedia comes to mind when I think about crowd reviewing and curation of information, and many people will have differing opinions on the success or failure of this approach.
Personally I am always uneasy about a 'throw science at the wall and see what sticks' approach, although I must admit to being guilty of using this myself at times. @:-)

Craig



On Thu, Jan 5, 2017 at 10:22 AM, Barbara Foster <[hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Dear Listers,
> I just read an intriguing article about "preprint" publications,
> discussing the pros and cons of having early access to scientific
> research.  One point they made was that having papers available
> earlier allows the whole community to review and comment.  What are your thought?
>
> Here's the link:http://www.biotechniques.com/news/biotechniquesNews/
> biotechniques-365411.html#.WG5_ElMrLIU
>
> -Barbara Foster
>
> Microscopy/Microscopy Education  ... "Education, not Training"
> 7101 Royal Glen Trail, Suite A  - McKinney, TX 75070 - P: 972-924-5310
> www.MicroscopyEducation.com Microscopy/Microscopy Education is a
> division of The Microscopy & Imaging Place, Inc.
>
>
> NEW!   Getting involved in Raman or FTIR?
> MME is now offering courses in these areas specifically for microscopists!
> Now scheduling courses through the mid 2017.  We can customize a
> course on nearly any topic, from fluorescence to confocal to image
> analysis to SEM/TEM.
> Call today for a free training evaluation.
>