FAQ
1) What is a preprint? ( 2020/04/16 14:00)
It is a manuscript made available in open access on a preprint web server before being published by a journal. Preprints are considered as the beginning of the research articles communication flow in the SciELO Publication Model. SciELO Preprints is a preprint web server that obeys basic quality criteria. Thus, manuscripts will only be accepted in SciELO Preprints if they obey basic criteria regarding the text structure and type of document.
2) What is the SciELO Preprints server? ( 2022/03/04 11:00)
It is an open access preprint server with attribution CC-BY operated by the SciELO Program using the open source Open Preprint Systems (OPS), developed by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), also responsible for the Open Journal Systems (OJS). SciELO Preprints is an integral part of the SciELO Network of national and thematic journal collections and operates as a collection of scientific documents that are indexed and retrieved by SciELO, Google Scholar, Europe PMC and other scientific systems and indexers. The copyright of the preprints belong to the authors.
3) What are the main features of SciELO Preprints? ( 2022/03/04 14:00)
(a) Managed and operated by the SciELO Program and an integral part of the SciELO Network of national and thematic journal collections - www.scielo.org; (b) Operates on the Open Preprint Systems (OPS) software; (c) Apply basic criteria for the selection of manuscripts regarding the type of document and the text structure; (d) The editorial management and the development and application of the basic selection criteria are conducted by the SciELO Preprints Editorial Committee; (e) Preprints are subject to versioning; (f) Preprints can be withdrawn from the server at the initiative of the authors or by SciELO Preprints and are subject to retraction. However, the metadata and the reason for retraction remain on the server; (g) All preprints have a DOI identifier and Crossref registry, which ensures interoperability and visibility in the global scientific information flow; (h) Preprints will be digitally preserved by SciELO; (i) Preprints are indexed and retrieved by SciELO, Google Scholar, Europe PMC and are available for wide indexing; and (j) When published in a journal, the preprint is linked to the respective final article.
4) Who can submit manuscripts to SciELO Preprints? ( 2020/04/16 14:00)
Authors and SciELO journals can. Authors submit manuscripts before or in parallel to submission to a journal. This type of manuscript does not have a peer review formalized by a journal. In such cases, the manuscript is automatically uploaded when it meets the basic selection criteria or if approved after basic assessment by editors of the manuscript’s area and will receive a DOI assigned by SciELO Preprints. SciELO journals submit manuscripts already approved that are in the final process of evaluation, editing and publication. In these cases, the manuscript is automatically uploaded and will have the same DOI as the final journal article.
5) Who are responsible for the preprints? ( 2020/07/06 14:00)
The authors and journals who submit manuscripts are. The basic selection criteria and the basic evaluation by the editors are instruments that SciELO Preprints uses to ensure the highest quality level of the preprints. However, SciELO Preprints does not validate and is not to be hold responsible of the preprints’ content.
6) Do all preprints have a DOI? ( 2020/04/16 14:00)
Yes. When the manuscript is submitted by the authors, SciELO Preprints assigns a DOI to the preprint. When the manuscript is submitted by a SciELO journal, the journal assigns the preprint a DOI.
7) Can preprints be modified to new versions? What is versioning? ( 2020/07/06 11:00)
Yes. The possibility of improving a manuscript is one of the main characteristics and advantages of using preprints. The preprint gives authors more control over the communication of their research. Journals can use preprint to improve and disseminate manuscripts already approved before the publication of the final article or version of record. There is no limitation on the number of modifications. OPS always operates with the latest preprint version, but each version keeps a connection with the previous one, so that all versions are kept on the server. This feature is called versioning and is one of the properties of trusted servers.
8) What are the basic criteria for selecting manuscripts regarding text structure? (2022/05/15 12:00)
Manuscripts should be submitted to SciELO Preprints in PDF format. We recommend that manuscripts are submitted according to this template. The structure and format of the text of the manuscripts must contain the basic set of data elements of a scientific article according to the SciELO Publishing Schema for submission to SciELO journals. Thus, they should contain the following bibliographic elements: title, authors, detailed institutional affiliation of the authors including the ORCID record with activated link, abstract, keywords, full text, references, declaration of conflicts of interest, and identification of the contribution of each author, preferably following the CRediT taxonomy. Manuscripts in languages other than English must include the title, abstract and keywords translated into English. Authors are requested to complete in a maximum of two working days the mandatory bibliographic elements missing in the submitted manuscript.
9) What are the basic criteria for selecting manuscripts submitted by the authors regarding the types of documents? ( 2020/07/06 11:00)
The types of privileged documents are manuscripts that communicate or are related to scientific research. Essays and opinions will be analyzed by the area editors for evaluation. The moderation follows two converging basic criteria for manuscript acceptance. First, if the manuscript communicates new knowledge -- for example, technical notes, guides and manuals are not accepted. Second, if the manuscript is eligible to be sent for peer review by a typical SciELO journal.
10) Automatic acceptance of manuscripts submitted by authors: what are the basic requirements? ( 2023/07/28 14:00)
Automatic acceptance has four basic requirements. First, manuscripts that communicate results of original research authored with at least 2 articles indexed in Scopus or SciELO or 5 articles with DOIs indexed in Google Scholar. Other types of communication such as review, essays, new products and technologies and opinion articles are automatically accepted when the author has at least 5 articles with DOI indexed in SciELO or Scopus or 10 articles with DOIs indexed in Google Scholar or if there is an endorsement of a researcher with at least 10 articles indexed in SciELO or Scopus; otherwise, they are moderated by editors of the respective areas. See FAQ 9) on moderation. Second, all authors must inform their full institutional affiliation in the manuscript PDF file, on the first page below the respective authors' names. Third, all authors must have ORCID explicitly linked to their institutional affiliations in the PDF file of the manuscript, on the first page. Fourth, the contribution of each author should be informed at the end of the manuscript, preferably following the CRediT taxonomy.
The verification of the scientific production of the authors is done via ORCID record. Ideally, for the qualification of manuscripts and visibility of authors, all authors should report their complete scientific production in their respective ORCID records. However, at least one author must report the required scientific production. Authors without required scientific production may submit the manuscript endorsement of a researcher with required scientific production. When there is no required scientific production informed by the authors and in the absence of endorsement, the manuscripts that communicate original research will proceed to moderation by an area editor or will not be accepted.
Articles published in journals edited at the authors' institution are limited to two and articles published in journals with suspected predation are not considered.
11) Which manuscript languages are accepted? ( 2020/04/16 14:00)
During the pilot operation, manuscripts in Spanish, English and Portuguese will be accepted. When the language is different from English, the title, abstract and keywords must be provided with their respective English translations. When the manuscript is written simultaneously in more than one language, both versions can be submitted separately. Each will receive a specific DOI and the Crossref record indicates the translation relationship between DOIs.
12) Can a manuscript under evaluation by a journal be submitted by the authors to SciELO Preprints? ( 2020/04/16 14:00)
It can when the journal allows or even when the journal suggests it. When in doubt, authors should ask the journal before submission to SciELO Preprints. Manuscripts being evaluated by journals when submitted and approved either by automatic acceptance criteria or by the area editors receive a DOI assigned by SciELO Preprints.
13) Can a preprint submitted to a journal be updated with the improvements recommended by reviewers and editors? ( 2020/04/16 14:00)
It can, when the journal allows or even when the journal suggests it. When in doubt, authors should ask the journal before proceeding with the adjustments. The journal publishes the final article or version of record. On SciELO Preprints, the preprint is redirected to the article’s version of record.
14) Which journals can submit already approved manuscripts to SciELO Preprints? ( 2021/02/04 09:00)
Only journals indexed in the SciELO Network collections can submit manuscripts that have already been approved and are in the final stage of evaluation, edition or publication. The manuscripts are automatically uploaded and will have the same DOI as the respective final journal articles. Non-SciELO journals must request or authorize authors to directly submit to SciELO Preprints the manuscripts under evaluation or already approved but not yet published. Manuscripts will be uploaded automatically if they meet the basic requirements or if they are approved after basic assessment by the editors of the manuscript’s area and will receive DOI identifiers assigned by SciELO Preprints.
15) Which journals can receive preprint submissions from SciELO Preprints? ( 2020/04/16 14:00)
Any journal. The journal of choice is of the preprint authors. However, it is a mandatory ethical norm for researchers to submit the preprint to a single journal until its final assessment. Preprints that are simultaneously submitted to more than one journal will be retracted by SciELO Preprints.
16) What happens when a preprint is published by a journal? ( 2020/07/06 11:00)
The preprint remains forever in SciELO Preprints, but when it is retrieved there is a link that points to the final article or the journal’s version of record.
17) When accepted by a journal, does the article receive a new DOI, or does the journal use the same DOI as the preprint version? ( 2021/02/05 17:00)
The preprints always have a DOI that is registered in Crossref. When submitted by the authors, the DOI of the preprint is assigned by SciELO Preprints with the prefix 10.1590 followed by a sequential number. When submitted by a SciELO journal, the preprint is automatically loaded with the DOI assigned by the journal. In case the preprint is accepted for publication in a journal, it is up to the journal to use the same DOI as the preprint or to use a different DOI, assigned by the journal.
18) If the DOI of the preprint is reused by a SciELO journal, what happens with a citation, does it go to the journal or to the preprint? ( 2021/02/05 17:00)
The citation goes to the journal, since the metadata in Crossref is updated and the current version of that DOI becomes that of the journal.
19) Is there a "preprint editor" to moderate each area of knowledge? If so, how are they indicated? ( 2021/02/05 17:00)
The preprints submitted to SciELO Preprints go through up to three quality controls. The first, which applies to all, refers to compliance with norms regarding authorship, approval by an ethics committee, when necessary, and the structure of the document. The second control verifies if it is an original research with authors with academic background for automatic approval. The third control is the moderation done by a SciELO journal editor, who evaluates if the manuscript is acceptable for peer review of a typical SciELO journal in the area of the manuscript.
20) If my manuscript is rejected, can I make a new submission? ( 2021/11/03 11:30)
Yes, provided that the manuscript is revised and meets the recommendations informed in the rejection letter. In case of multiple submissions of the same manuscript without corrections, the user account will be blocked.
