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Comparing quality of reporting between preprints and peer-reviewed articles in the biomedical literature

View ORCID ProfileClarissa F. D. Carneiro, Victor G. S. Queiroz, View ORCID ProfileThiago C. Moulin, View ORCID ProfileCarlos A. M. Carvalho, Clarissa B. Haas, Danielle Rayêe, David E. Henshall, View ORCID ProfileEvandro A. De-Souza, View ORCID ProfileFelippe E. Amorim, View ORCID ProfileFlávia Z. Boos, Gerson D. Guercio, Igor R. Costa, View ORCID ProfileKarina L. Hajdu, Lieve van Egmond, View ORCID ProfileMartin Modrák, View ORCID ProfilePedro B. Tan, View ORCID ProfileRichard J. Abdill, View ORCID ProfileSteven J. Burgess, Sylvia F. S. Guerra, View ORCID ProfileVanessa T. Bortoluzzi, View ORCID ProfileOlavo B. Amaral
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/581892
Clarissa F. D. Carneiro
aInstitute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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  • ORCID record for Clarissa F. D. Carneiro
  • For correspondence: clarissa.franca@bioqmed.ufrj.br
Victor G. S. Queiroz
aInstitute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Thiago C. Moulin
aInstitute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Carlos A. M. Carvalho
bSeção de Arbovirologia e Febres Hemorrágicas, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Pará, Brazil
cDepartamento de Patologia, Universidade do Estado do Pará, Pará, Brazil
dCentro Universitário Metropolitano da Amazônia, Instituto Euro-Americano de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia, Pará, Brazil
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Clarissa B. Haas
eDepartamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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Danielle Rayêe
fBiomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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David E. Henshall
gUniversity of Edinburgh Medical School, Scotland, United Kingdom
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Evandro A. De-Souza
aInstitute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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  • ORCID record for Evandro A. De-Souza
Felippe E. Amorim
aInstitute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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  • ORCID record for Felippe E. Amorim
Flávia Z. Boos
hPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Gerson D. Guercio
iDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minnesota, United States of America
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Igor R. Costa
aInstitute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Karina L. Hajdu
fBiomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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  • ORCID record for Karina L. Hajdu
Lieve van Egmond
jDepartment of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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Martin Modrák
kInstitute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
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Pedro B. Tan
fBiomedical Sciences Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Richard J. Abdill
iDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minnesota, United States of America
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Steven J. Burgess
mCarl R Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, United States of America
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Sylvia F. S. Guerra
dCentro Universitário Metropolitano da Amazônia, Instituto Euro-Americano de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia, Pará, Brazil
nSeção de Virologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Pará, Brazil
oDepartamento de Morfologia e Ciências Fisiológicas, Universidade do Estado do Pará, Pará, Brazil
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Vanessa T. Bortoluzzi
eDepartamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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Olavo B. Amaral
aInstitute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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  • ORCID record for Olavo B. Amaral
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Abstract

Preprint usage is growing rapidly in the life sciences; however, questions remain on the relative quality of preprints when compared to published articles. An objective dimension of quality that is readily measurable is completeness of reporting, as transparency can improve the reader’s ability to independently interpret data and reproduce findings. In this observational study, we initially compared independent samples of articles published in bioRxiv and in PubMed-indexed journals in 2016 using a quality of reporting questionnaire. After that, preprints were also compared to their own journal-published versions. Peer-reviewed articles had, on average, higher quality of reporting than preprints, although the difference was small, with absolute differences of 5.0 % [95% CI 1.4, 8.6] and 4.7 % [95% CI 2.4, 7.0] of reported items in the independent samples and paired sample comparison, respectively. There were larger differences favoring peer-reviewed articles in subjective ratings of how clearly titles and abstracts presented the main findings and how easy it was to locate relevant reporting information. Changes in reporting from preprints to peer-reviewed versions did not correlate with the impact factor of the publication venue or with the time lag from bioRxiv to journal publication. Overall, our results suggest that editorial peer review has a statistically significant but small impact on improving quality of reporting. They also show that quality of reporting in preprints in the life sciences is within a similar range as that of peer-reviewed articles, albeit slightly lower on average, supporting the idea that preprints should be considered valid scientific contributions.

Footnotes

  • Author affiliation corrected.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
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Posted March 19, 2020.
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Comparing quality of reporting between preprints and peer-reviewed articles in the biomedical literature
Clarissa F. D. Carneiro, Victor G. S. Queiroz, Thiago C. Moulin, Carlos A. M. Carvalho, Clarissa B. Haas, Danielle Rayêe, David E. Henshall, Evandro A. De-Souza, Felippe E. Amorim, Flávia Z. Boos, Gerson D. Guercio, Igor R. Costa, Karina L. Hajdu, Lieve van Egmond, Martin Modrák, Pedro B. Tan, Richard J. Abdill, Steven J. Burgess, Sylvia F. S. Guerra, Vanessa T. Bortoluzzi, Olavo B. Amaral
bioRxiv 581892; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/581892
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Comparing quality of reporting between preprints and peer-reviewed articles in the biomedical literature
Clarissa F. D. Carneiro, Victor G. S. Queiroz, Thiago C. Moulin, Carlos A. M. Carvalho, Clarissa B. Haas, Danielle Rayêe, David E. Henshall, Evandro A. De-Souza, Felippe E. Amorim, Flávia Z. Boos, Gerson D. Guercio, Igor R. Costa, Karina L. Hajdu, Lieve van Egmond, Martin Modrák, Pedro B. Tan, Richard J. Abdill, Steven J. Burgess, Sylvia F. S. Guerra, Vanessa T. Bortoluzzi, Olavo B. Amaral
bioRxiv 581892; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/581892

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