In a previous post, we discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic has created a global need to share emerging scientific research. This has resulted in a surge of preprint articles being published.
Preprints are completed manuscripts that are freely available, often through an online repository, prior to formal peer review or publication in a scholarly journal.
Preprints have their own Digital Object Identifier (DOI). This means that the same work will get a new DOI if and when it goes through the traditional publication process. For example, this preprint was added to the preprint server medRxiv in April, 2021. After it was peer reviewed, it was published in August, 2021 in Frontiers in Neuroscience with this new DOI.
Preprints are easy to access because of their inherent openness—the intention is to make the manuscript available online and at no cost for immediate feedback. A preprint must not be considered an easier option for access to the work when the peer-reviewed version is later published behind a paywall.
Given the informal nature of preprints, should journal clubs consider reviewing them?
Reviewing a preprint for a journal club can result in a number of benefits for both the club and the research community, as long as club members are aware that they are reviewing a manuscript that has not been through the traditional publishing process (Casadevall & Gow, 2018). A preprint must not be used as the sole source to guide journalism or clinical practice because the work may:
- Change if the preprint is updated
- Be published in another form after formal peer review
- Be redacted or withdrawn if methods or findings are found to be lacking
Make preprint review a part of your journal club
Reviewing preprints in a journal club can provide an opportunity for members to learn more about the publishing process. Club members may consider the following activities:
- Comparing a preprint version of a work against the published version (e.g. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.31.20118323 vs. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.693861)
- Collating and submitting feedback on a recent preprint through a preprint review platform, like PREreview
Benefit the research community
Understanding the nature and value of preprints and participating in their review can provide opportunities for members of your club to engage more deeply in the research publication process. Who knows, maybe members will go on to be reviewers or authors!
Engaging purposefully with preprints as a journal club, according to Casadevall & Gow (2018), can also help to dispel myths about an article’s quality as perpetuated by the use of impact metrics. Instead, journal club members can focus on the science in their review.
Once you and your journal club are aware of the characteristics of preprints, a work can be reviewed or appraised using standard evaluation tools like critical appraisal checklists such as Critical Appraisal Skills Programme, depending on the methodology used. If your journal club is new to preprints, an easy way to learn more is to book a consultation with a Nova Scotia Health librarian and invite them to a club meeting.
References
Casadevall, A., & Gow, N. (2018). Using preprints for journal clubs.
Katie McLean
Librarian Educator, Outreach Lead
Dickson Building, Central Zone
The process of creating or updating an eLearning course for Nova Scotia Health’s Learning Management System (LMS) has changed in the past year—for the better! The new streamlined process is easier to follow and a lot quicker. Read on about these changes, and how they make course creation and maintenance less daunting.
How has the process changed?
To keep things simple, the creating and updating processes have been divided into two phases: Development and Production.
Phase 1: Development
Phase 2: Production
Intranet page changes
You can find all of the resources you will need to create or update eLearning courses for the LMS on the Creating for LMS page.
Here you will find key things you need to get started, including:
Understanding your role in creating an LMS course
A staff member’s role in creating an LMS course will determine their involvement in the Development and/or Production phase(s) of this work. Key roles in the LMS process, and their respective responsibilities, are as follows:
Keep in mind
If you have questions about these changes or the LMS process, please email LMS@nshealth.ca for more information or sign up for an online 30-minute training session: Intro to LMS: Creating an eLearning Course.
Kallen Rutledge
Librarian Educator, Patient Education & LMS
Nova Scotia Hospital, Central Zone