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Academic Sources

Pre-print articles

Pre-print articles are research papers that have been shared publically before they've gone through peer-review or been formally published in a journal.  Often authors invite feedback on their findings, and  the content may change before final publication. 

The main benefits of pre-prints is that research can be shared much earlier and access is free to everyone. In comparison, a peer-reviewed journal article can take much longer to be published, and access to the journal article itself may require a journal subscription or one-off payment.

When using pre-prints, you need to critically assess the article because it has not been verified by other academics and experts for quality, methodology and accuracy. Ideally, you should use the final accepted published version rather than a pre-print. However, some subjects make extensive use of pre-prints. Ask your lecturer if you are unsure whether you should be using pre-prints in your work.

Pre-prints can be found in subject platforms such as: 

Author accepted manuscripts

Author accepted manuscripts (AAMs), also known as post-prints, are the versions of academic papers that come after peer review but before final publication in a journal. Unlike pre-prints, author accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and contain the same content as the final published article, though they lack the journal’s formatting and layout (as the design and layout of a published article's copyright belongs to the publisher).

These manuscripts are often stored in a university repository and, unless restricted by the journal publisher, are typically freely accessible before the final version is released. If you’re unable to access a published journal article—due to a paywall or lack of university subscription—you can try locating the article through the main author’s university repository or an open-access platform.

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