Adherence to preprints’ publication in Dentistry by Brazilian researchers

Jaisson Cenci; Daiane Silva Santos Da Cruz; Pedro Dentice Da Silva Leite; Anelise Fernandes Montagner; Maximiliano Sérgio Cenci

doi:10.1590/SciELOPreprints.5193

article.authors6a31ad9b925e2

Jaisson Cenci Universidade Federal de Pelotas https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6883-5600
Daiane Silva Santos Da Cruz Universidade Federal de Pelotas
Pedro Dentice Da Silva Leite Universidade Federal de Pelotas
Anelise Fernandes Montagner Universidade Federal de Pelotas
Maximiliano Sérgio Cenci Universidade Federal de Pelotas

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/SciELOPreprints.5193

Palavras-chave:

preprint, Open science, Metaresearch, Peer-review, Access to information, Science, Full-Text Databases

Resumo

Aim: The publication in preprint format is an interesting open science practice that allows fast outreach to the society of new scientific findings. However, no previous study has investigated how much this practice has been adopted by dental scientists. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the adherence to the preprint publication format by a sample of Brazilian researchers.

Methods: Searches were carried out, in September 2021, on the MedArxiv, OSF, and SciELO preprints platforms, looking for publications in preprint format by all Brazilian researchers of graduate programs in dentistry (n=211) who were productivity fellows in 2021 (PQ). Searches were performed by typing the authors’ full names and the possible variations, as indicated by each author's curriculum, openly available on the Lattes website platform. The data were analyzed through the Friedman test, with the Durbin-Conover post-hoc (α=0.05) in order to compare the three platforms. Spearman's correlation test (α=0.05) was performed to assess the possible correlations between the number of preprints and age, career stage, and the researcher’s scholarship level variables.

Results: From the 211 researchers searched, 22 (10.4%) published 1 (one) preprint on at least one platform. A total of 39 published preprints were found at MedArxiv (n=19, 48.7%), SciELO preprints (n=18, 46.2%), and OSF platforms (n=2, 5.1%). There was no difference between the adherence to MedArxiv and SciELO preprints (p = 0.731). However, the OSF platform presented the lowest adherence, statistically differing from MedArxiv (p=0.008) and SciELO preprints platforms (p=0.003). In addition, no correlation was found between the publication of preprints and the researcher's age (p=0.128), career stage (p=0.248), or the researcher's scholarship level (p=0.661).

Conclusion: It was possible to observe a low adherence to the preprints publications by Brazilian researchers’ productivity fellows of graduate programs in dentistry.