Preprints Are Here to Stay: Is That Good for Science?

Scholarly communication, largely encased in traditional publications such as journals, books, and conference papers/presentations, proved ineffective during the COVID-19 pandemic. The need for change has encouraged redefining editorial policies, sharing research data in open access, accelerating and improving the peer review process, and the emergence of new ways of communicating through preprints. Although common in some research fields for decades, the increased use of preprints, in other disciplines, like medicine and health, has shown its vital role in rapidly exchanging information while opening up many questions and concerns at the same time. The benefits of preprints must be therefore balanced with the challenges they bring, especially concerning the validity and integrity of the published research and translation of preprint policies into practice. This chapter will provide a comprehensive review of preprint policies and practices. Two experts in journal research and peer review, one from medical and the other from social science research fields, join their expertise to discuss the future of preprints, particularly how different publishing stakeholders can help make research results available as soon as possible to those who need them.