The influence of bioRχiv on PLOS ONE's peer‐review and acceptance time

Abstract

This study examines the relation between acceptance times in preprint publishing and journal publishing. Specifically, we investigated the association between a paper's posting time to bioRχiv, a preprints server, and journal articles' peer‐review and acceptance time for PLOS ONE. So far, of the total papers published in 1,626 academic journals, the average publication rate of those posted in bioRχiv is 40.67%. Meanwhile, PLOS ONE was the journal that published more papers. Analysis of peer‐review and acceptance time of papers published in journals via preprints showed the time these papers are posted in relation to these intervals. The median of the peer‐review and acceptance time of the journal submission date that was later than the date of first posting to bioRχiv was 110.00 days, and in the reverse case, it was 139.50 days. Posting to the preprint server before journal submission shows a better order than vice versa. This study provides us a good understanding of the peer‐review process. It also gives us good insights into optimizing this process, which would then facilitate paper publication and knowledge dissemination.

Is the acceptance time shorter for submission with preprints?

“…The most relevant study to this research was conducted by Tsunoda et al (2020). They compared the acceptance time difference between papers first posted on bioRxiv before being submitted to PLoS One and those first submitted to PLoS One and later posted as preprints.…”

The Impact of Preprints on COVID-19 Research Dissemination: A Quantitative Analysis of Journal Publications

“…The quality of reporting in preprints in the life sciences is within a similar range as that of peer-reviewed papers, albeit slightly lower on average, supporting the idea that preprints should be considered valid scientific contributions (Carneiro, et al, 2020;Davidson, et al, 2024;Janda, et al, 2022;Sarkis-Onofre, Girotto, & Agostini, 2023). Research papers initially disseminated as preprints tend to undergo a shorter peer review process when submitted to journals, leading to faster publication (Fraser, Mayr, & Peters, 2022;Tsunoda, et al, 2020).…”