Research Square is a multidisciplinary preprint server that posts research in all scientific areas, including physical, biomedical, and social sciences.
We currently accept the following content types:
Only systematic reviews and research articles with complete methods and results sections will be considered for posting. Theories, commentaries, and non-systematic reviews are not eligible for preprinting. Manuscripts reporting negative results are welcome.
Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, do not currently satisfy generally accepted authorship criteria. Notably an attribution of authorship carries with it accountability for the work, which cannot be effectively applied to LLMs. Use of an LLM should be properly documented in the Methods section (and if a Methods section is not available, in a suitable alternative part) of the manuscript.
Most journals allow posting of a preprint to sites like Research Square before publication in the journal. A list of journal policies can be found on Wikipedia here and on SHERPA/RoMEO here. Interpreting journal policies can be confusing at times; it is best to directly contact the journal if you have any questions about their policy.
We accept the following file formats: .doc, .docx, .pdf.
If you would like help with writing in English, you should consider:
We strongly encourage authors to make publicly available the data on which the conclusions of their manuscript rely. For an index of relevant data repositories, see Fairsharing.org. We recommend that authors include a Data Availability statement, documenting where the data can be found.
Data availability statements can take one of the following forms (or a combination of more than one if required for multiple datasets):
For medical research, we consider it particularly critical that data be made fully accessible. We may decide not to post certain preprints on the basis of unavailable or inaccessible data.
It is important to provide preprint readers with transparent declarations of any financial, non-financial, personal, or professional affiliations and interests that could be perceived to impact the reporting of research outcomes in the submitted work.
Research Square therefore requires authors to disclose all potential competing interests/conflicts of interest at the time of preprint submission. If authors are not sure whether a particular affiliation or association might be perceived as a conflict, it should be declared for complete transparency to enable readers to judge the matter for themselves.
Declaration of a potential competing interest does not imply a problem with the reporting; in fact, transparent declarations by the authors can help to foster trust in their work, in the accuracy of their reporting, and in their interpretation of the research outcomes.
For more information on competing interest definitions and best practices, please refer to the widely accepted recommendations produced by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
Research Square does not conduct peer review on preprints prior to posting. Content submitted to Research Square is checked for appropriate ethics and consent statements; disclosure of competing interests; absence of patient identifiers; and inappropriate, alarming, highly controversial, or pseudoscientific claims. Articles with strong conclusions, especially in the absence of fully accessible data, may also be screened out. A submission that has already been published at a journal will not be posted as a preprint. Additionally, submissions with missing figures, reference lists, or other critical components may be rejected. Preprints that are posted to the platform as part of the Springer Nature In Review service indicate the set of checks that have been carried out by the journal. They will include any checks the journal performs in addition to the above-mentioned Research Square checks. Checks at Research Square are carried out by our trained editorial staff. Our policies currently do not preclude posting submissions whose titles match those of preprints posted to other servers. For more on our position on preprint duplicates, see here.
Once received, submissions undergo our screening checks and are typically posted within 72 business hours. *Please note that processing times may vary depending on demand and other factors. Preprints received through the In Review service first undergo a quality check at the journal. Once the quality check is complete, Research Square will begin processing the manuscript for posting as a preprint.
Preprints posted on Research Square receive a DOI, making them a citable part of the scientific record. They are widely indexed by indexers such as Crossref and Google Scholar, giving them a permanent digital presence. Once preprints receive a DOI, we cannot remove them from the platform without cause.
At times, we may choose to withdraw a preprint due to issues that cannot clearly be addressed by submitting a revised version of the preprint. Authors may request the withdrawal of a preprint from the platform by emailing [email protected]. If a preprint is withdrawn, a new version is posted that explains why the author has chosen to withdraw their preprint. Any previous versions of the preprint remain available.
In very rare circumstances, we may decide that a preprint needs to be removed from the site altogether. In these cases, the preprint is replaced with text indicating that the preprint has been removed. Wherever possible, the title and author list will persist.
Research Square may initiate a withdrawal on a preprint if we have reason to believe there are issues with research conduct or ethics associated with the work or if a later version of the article has been retracted from a journal.
Concerns regarding specific preprints should be addressed to [email protected].
Editorial notes are used to provide important context regarding the topic of a preprint or to alert readers to potential issues concerning that preprint or a downstream publication associated with it. Authors are informed about the addition of an editorial note to their preprint; however, Research Square maintains discretion over the content of the note.
Preprints at Research Square are indexed through Crossref, Europe PMC, Google Scholar, Researcher, and Meta. PubMed Central indexes a limited subset of preprints.
If we make a decision not to post a manuscript to the platform due to concerns identified at the screening step described in section 5, that decision cannot be appealed.
Commenters are required to provide a name and email address.
Comments that are flagged for moderation should only be removed if they contain offensive or inappropriate content. Comments written in a disrespectful manner may also be removed.
Preprints are held in an archive run by Portico, who will post the full Research Square content repository in the event of the site ceasing to exist. This ensures permanence of all content posted to the platform.
All preprints on the platform are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license. For more guidance on licensing, please see the Preprint Licensing Information Page at ASAPbio.
Pursuant to our Terms of Service, authors agree not to submit content that
Regarding the inclusion of geographical maps in any media provided as part of a preprint submission, Research Square remains neutral concerning jurisdictional claims implied by the depiction of frontiers or boundaries displayed in maps.
Please use the following format to cite preprints on Research Square:
Martina Bientzle, Ulrike Cress, Joachim Kimmerle. Development of domain-specific epistemological beliefs of physiotherapists: A longitudinal study, 22 October 2019, PREPRINT (Version 3) available at Research Square [https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.2.9685/v3]
Research Square supports versions of preprints and encourages authors to issue new versions when corrections need to be made or in response to reviewer/community feedback. Preprints are limited to 5 revisions.
Because preprints are posted before they have undergone expert scrutiny, they should not be considered conclusive, or suitable for dissemination as established information or used to guide clinical practice. As with journal articles, readers should use their judgement or seek expert opinion themselves before using the information to inform their own research, writing, or behavior. Additional guidance for reporters seeking to cover preprints can be found here.