Tracking changes between preprint posting and journal publication during a pandemic

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001285
• Publication Date: 2022-02-01T18:21:15Z
• Authors: Liam Brierley; Federico Nanni; Jessica K. Polka; Gautam Dey; Máté Pálfy; Nicholas Fraser; Jonathon Alexis C...
• Keywords: Preprint; Pandemic; Scrutiny; 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak; Tracking (education)

Amid the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, preprints in biomedical sciences are being posted and accessed at unprecedented rates, drawing widespread attention from general public, press, policymakers for first time. This phenomenon has sharpened long-standing questions about reliability of information shared prior to journal peer review. Does typically withstand scrutiny review, or conclusions likely change version record? We assessed bioRxiv medRxiv that had been subsequently published a through April 30, 2020, representing initial phase pandemic response. utilised combination automatic manual annotations quantify how an article changed between preprinted version. found total number figure panels tables little preprint articles. Moreover, 7.2% non-COVID-19-related 17.2% COVID-19-related abstracts undergo discrete by time publication, but majority these changes do not qualitatively paper.