Preprints and New Content

It is now common practice for researchers in many disciplines to post their work as a preprint ahead of or in conjunction with submission to a peer-reviewed journal. For some, the question is no longer whether to upload a preprint of their work but when or how quickly to do so. With preprints now a first step in the submission process, publishers and editors have a new set of questions: Where do preprints fit in the scope of upholding scientific rigor? What if the study or data are flawed (and potentially harmful to readers, especially those who aren’t scientists)? Who takes responsibility for the accuracy of preprints and the data now “published” and available to the public? How do we handle retracting, citing, and referencing preprints? Are preprints a “move fast and break things” example of new directions in academic publishing, or should we consider implementing some speed bumps? This panel will discuss these questions and more.

Publication Date

2021 | Oct 06

New Directions 2021 | How to Move Fast and Not Break Things

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SSP’s 2021 New Directions Seminar is a deep dive into the breakneck speed in which our industry is currently transitioning, transforming, and evolving, while also recognizing and highlighting the limits (and uncomfortable consequences) of moving too quickly. Topics covered in the seminar include new pressures on scholarship and science communication in a post-Covid world; new Open Access and funding models; the drive toward diversity and inclusion in workplaces and publications; the surge in preprints and the demand for accelerated publishing workflows; emerging metrics of impact; and the latest—and truly exciting—developments in tools, techniques, and technology that drive our industry forward. Speakers will examine these issues through the lens of the “need for speed” and how to find the right cadence or risk slamming on the breaks. Join us as we explore how we can respond quickly to changing conditions within the scholarly publishing industry and community, and work towards reaching a universal speed—hopefully, without breaking things.

Alex Freeman

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Winton Centre for Risk & Evidence Communication, Centre for Mathematical Sciences

Joy Owango

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Training Centre in Communication and AfricArxiv

Michele Avissar-Whiting

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Program Officer, Open Science Strategy, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Michele is a program officer for open science strategy at HHMI. She previously held various roles at Research Square Company and served as Editor in Chief of their preprint platform from 2020 to 2022. She has a PhD in Medical Science from Brown University, where she studied the intersection of toxicology, epigenetics, and cancer.

Sylvia Izzo Hunter

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Inera | An Atypon Company

Sylvia Izzo Hunter joined Inera as Marketing Manager in January 2018, following a 20-year career in editorial, production, and digital publishing at University of Toronto Press, where she honed her interest in producing accessible digital content. She served on the SSP Board of Directors from 2015 through 2018, and is currently a member of SSP’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Education committees. Sylvia is the author of two articles about copyediting in the Journal of Scholarly Publishing, and of three fantasy novels published by Ace Books.