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Live-streamed Preprint Journal Clubs!!!

Note: This post was written in collaboration with the PREreview team (Monica Granados, Samantha Hindle, Daniela Saderi)

We are teaming up with PREreview during Open Access week to bring together scientists from around the world to discuss and review an actual preprint…live-streamed!

PREreview helps scientists receive acknowledgement for their time spent reviewing others’ work. We are proud to collaborate with them to shine a spotlight on our shared goals: to encourage more scientists to post feedback on preprints, and to provide credit for their contributions to peer review. PREreview’s aim is to promote the discussion of preprints at journal clubs by providing resources and a platform where these discussions can be shared, and to ensure reviews are citable by assigning a digital object identifier (DOI) for each preprint review.

In the spirit of Open Access week, together we decided to leverage today’s technology to make these journal clubs more accessible to a diverse group of scientists by running them entirely online!

Want to participate? Read on for more details.

What is a preprint and how can it enhance your research?

Preprints are open access scientific manuscripts that have not yet been through editorial peer review. Because they are shared freely online while undergoing more formal peer review in a journal, they accelerate the communication of knowledge, thereby increasing the impact and reach of scientific discovery. Backed by many funders, journals, and institutions, preprints have become a legitimate part of research dissemination. To learn more about how preprints can help you and your science move forward, visit PLOS’ preprint resource page and ASAPbio.org.

One of the many advantages of preprinting is the potential for authors to receive immediate feedback from the rest of the scientific community and improve their article before formal publication in a journal. In a sense, it’s similar to the feedback one might receive after a talk or a poster presentation at a scientific meeting, except that it makes the process easier and more inclusive because anyone with internet connection around the world could comment on your work.

Here’s the plan – Join us and become part of the discussion!

WHAT

We will facilitate three interactive preprint journal club events that will be live-streamed via videoconference in which anyone can participate remotely. The focus will be on neuroscience, bioinformatics and ecology. Each online journal club will be hosted by two facilitators with experience in mediating video calls, as well as subject matter experts. They will guide participants through a constructive discussion of the preprint and collate feedback into a review report. These PREreviews will receive a DOI and will be shared online with the community as citable and discoverable objects. For more information about the format of PREreview online preprint journal clubs, check out PREreview’s information doc or email contact@prereview.org.

WHO

You! We encourage all interested researchers to be part of the discussion and offer their expertise. Of course, anyone who wants to see the power of preprints in action is also welcome. All you need is an internet connection or phone-in capabilities to join.

WHEN

Neuroscience: Monday, October 22, 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm GMT+1

Joining as a subject matter expert: Dr. Tim Mosca, Jefferson University

Bioinformatics: Tuesday, October 23, 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm GMT+1

Joining as a subject matter expert:   Dr. Shannon McWeeney and Dr. Ted Laderas,

Oregon Health and Science University

Ecology: Wednesday, October 24, 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm GMT+1

Joining as a subject matter expert:  Dr.Timothée Poisot,

Université de Montréal

HOW: REGISTER NOW to join us and invite others to come along. You can choose to join any (or all) of the subject areas listed above, and we will follow up with call-in details and specifics about the preprint that will be discussed closer to the event. Not sure if you can join yet? Sign up anyway to receive updates on the events and decide later.

WHERE: The video conference software Zoom, which is free to download. Please register and we will send you the information on how to join the calls.

Get ready to spend one hour with your fellow colleagues diving straight into the preprint and resurfacing with constructive feedback for the authors. This is a great opportunity to share your expertise with your peers from all over the world, learn about preprints, build your network, and get credit for your feedback.

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