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Scholarly publishing

Submitting preprints/postprints

What is a preprint?

A preprint is a version of an academic article that has not yet gone throught the peer review process. Although there is crtiticism about the quality of the articles since they have not been peer reviewed, the benefits of sharing a preprint of your article are:

  • the early dissemination of information, and 
  • the close examination by other researchers.

Where can I submit a preprint?

You can submit a preprint to a preprint server. These are often subject-specific.

Some examples include:

You need to get permission from all authors to publish the preprint. Choose your license when you upload your preprint, the most common open license is Creative Commons CC-BY .


What is a postprint?

 A postprint is a document that has been through the peer review process and incorporated reviewers comments. It is the final version of the paper before it is sent off to the journal for publication. Usually, the final copyedit and the formatting that makes it look like the journal are missing.  It can be shared in a green open access repository after it has been accepted for publication when it exceeds the embargo period.


Where can I find green Open Access repositories?  

Basically, there are three directories listing green open access repositories that you can find below:

  • OpenDOAR  is global directory of open access repositories. You can search and browse through thousands of registered repositories based on a range of features, such as location, software or type of material held.
  • Australasian Open Access Repositories A directory supporting all models of open access and ensuring that they can be part of the global research ecosystem.
  • ROAR Registry of Open Access Repositories is hosted by the University of Southampton, UK and promotes the development of OA by providing information about the growth and status of repositories worldwide.