1/11 This @biorxivpreprint is the result of a joyous collaboration with @Dey_Gautam @jessicapolka @nicholasmfraser @L_Brierley @mate_palfy that I've been positively bursting to share! https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.22.111294v1 #preprints #covid19 #collaboration #peerreview
2/11 #Preprints represent ~40% of the COVID19 literature (Jan-April) which is amazing - go preprints!
3/11 #COVID19 preprints are being accessed and downloaded more than non-COVID19 preprints
4/11 With all of this usage, how are preprints being shared? Well, COVID19 preprints are being heavily shared across Twitter but also by news organisations - is this a change in practice for journalists?
5/11 Hashtags associated with the 10 most tweeted #COVID19 preprints suggest conspiracy theorists are hijacking certain preprints
. But, also that for many preprints the science is making its way onto Twitter - our messages are getting across


6/11 #COVID19 preprints have a much reduced time to publication compared to non-COVID19 preprints - Traditonal publishers are doing a good job of helping to speed up dissemination of COVID19 science
7/11 We dived deep into the preprints that have been published -> they're shorter and contain fewer total number of figure panels/tables - have scientists changed how they are reporting findings, prioritising getting data out rather than waiting to build up a bigger story?
8/11 We looked at ~100 preprint-paper pairs (COVID19 and non-COVID19). The majority of preprints that are published (~60%) had no real change in their figures. But more COVID19 preprints did have significant content added (peer-review is helping improve some of these manuscripts)
9/11 But wait! we're not done yet. We're currently working on a figure 6 - looking at how preprints are being used in government responses/policy - if you think you could help with that then please get in touch!
10/11 Huge thanks to @JohnRInglis @cshperspectives @SSRN @Preprints_org @researchsquare @biorxivpreprint @medrxivpreprint for providing data!
11/11 Finally a personal thanks to @Hughes_Hall for their support during my time in Cambridge!
Bonus! The fabulous @nicholasmfraser is giving a talk on Wednesday and may very well discuss some of the data in this preprint sign-up here-> https://www.cwts.nl/news?article=n-r2z294