Preprints under consideration for Nature Communications
12 September 2017
To further increase the transparency of the peer review process and highlight our support of preprint servers and the role they play in the rapid dissemination of research findings, is trialling a new option for authors.
From September 2017, authors can choose to include a link to a preprint of any paper of theirs that is being peer reviewed by the journal on a public list that is freely accessible without registration, provided the preprint has been deposited in a community-recognised preprint server. Authors that haven't already deposited their paper in a preprint server and would like to engage in the trial can post their paper once alerted to formal peer review by Nature Communications.
We recognise that preprints have a valuable role to play in advancing discovery by allowing scientists to share and discuss results with the research community quickly and easily before and during peer review. By highlighting preprints currently under review, we aim to give added visibility to potentially significant science that is being considered for publication and to encourage wider involvement in the peer review process as we anticipate that our authors will continue to take comments on preprints into account to strengthen their findings during the peer review process.
We understand that the community is interested to know more about the earlier stages of assessment of research submitted to our journal and we hope that this will provide them with greater insight into our processes. We also hope that this will encourage greater engagement with and commentary on preprints.
