Preprints: Where to Post and When

Posting a preprint means sharing your findings before peer review has finished, sometimes many months ahead. Handled well, it secures priority and draws early feedback; handled carelessly, it may puzzle readers or conflict with a journal’s policy. This guide explains what a preprint is, where to post one, how to declare it, and what JMVRA’s own policy says. Reading it through before you upload anything can spare you awkward corrections later.

What Is a Preprint?

A preprint is a version of your research paper made public before it has gone through formal peer review. It is usually posted on a dedicated preprint server, which stamps it with a date and normally a DOI, so the work can be cited as an early public record.

Preprint, Manuscript and Version of Record Compared

Version	What it is	Peer reviewed?
Preprint	The draft you make public ahead of, or while undergoing, peer review	No
Accepted manuscript	Your finished text once peer review is over, prior to journal typesetting	Yes
Version of record	The definitive published article, carrying the journal’s layout and its DOI	Yes

Where to Post One

Server	Best for
arXiv	Physics, maths, computing and other quantitative disciplines
SSRN	Economics, finance, law and the social sciences
bioRxiv / medRxiv	Life and health sciences
OSF Preprints	A broad range of fields, with subject-specific servers like PsyArXiv and SocArXiv among them
Zenodo	Open to every field, and commonly used for datasets and software too

In most disciplines one server dominates, so find out which is the norm in yours before you decide.

Benefits and Risks

Choosing a Licence

When you post, servers ask which licence you want. An open licence such as CC BY 4.0 allows others to reuse your work as long as they credit you, and it is consistent with the licence used by open access journals like JMVRA. Steer clear of licences that would clash with the journal you intend to submit to.

Start by Reading the Journal’s Preprint Policy

Most journals now openly allow earlier preprint posting, though practice differs — a handful still regard a preprint as prior publication. Read your target journal’s policy before you post, not once it is too late. If the wording is ambiguous, write to the editor and keep the reply.

Declaring a Preprint When You Submit

1. Raise it in your cover letterName the server and date, and supply the preprint's DOI or link.
2. Stay truthfulDo not conceal changes or overlap from the editor.
3. Anticipate a similarity hitYour own preprint will be detected — the declaration accounts for it.

After Publication: Connect the Versions

When your article appears in print, edit the preprint record to point to the version of record (including its DOI) so readers are led to the reviewed text. Many servers provide a dedicated field for this.

JMVRA’s Policy on Preprints

Articles in JMVRA appear under CC BY 4.0, go through transparent, double-blind peer review, and every manuscript is screened for similarity (below 15%); a preprint of your own work that you have declared is taken into account during that screening. You can read the complete text in JMVRA’s Research Ethics, Data & Preprints policy.

At-a-Glance Checklist

1. Journal policy checkedThe journal you are aiming for takes papers already posted as preprints
2. Server chosenarXiv, SSRN, Zenodo, OSF or a subject-specific server
3. Licence pickedA licence that remains compatible with journal publication
4. Declared at submissionProvide the preprint's link and DOI
5. Versions linkedAdd a link from the preprint to the published article

Practical Tips for Posting and Managing a Preprint

A preprint can help your work reach readers sooner, but it must be handled with the journal's rules in mind. These suggestions keep versions tidy and your disclosure honest.

• Read policy before you post. Confirm that your target journal accepts manuscripts previously shared as preprints. A quick check beforehand avoids the awkward need to remove or explain a posting afterwards.
• Choose the licence deliberately. The licence on your preprint determines how others can reuse it and may interact with later publication terms, so select it thoughtfully rather than accepting a default.
• Label versions clearly. Use plain version labels and a short note describing what changed. Readers and indexing services can then tell an early draft from a revised, reviewed article.
• Declare the preprint at submission. Mention the posting and its address in your cover letter. Editors dislike discovering undeclared earlier versions during similarity checks, even when the posting itself is permitted.
• Link versions after publication. Add a note on the preprint pointing to the final article, so citations and readers are directed to the reviewed version of record.

Check policy first, declare the preprint when you submit, and link the versions together once the final article appears.

Questions Researchers Often Ask