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The scientific periphery and new flows of knowledge: the case of regional preprint servers

François van Schalkwyk (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa)

Online Information Review

ISSN: 1468-4527

Article publication date: 31 January 2024

Issue publication date: 11 October 2024

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Abstract

Purpose

It is unclear whether regional rather than global or discipline-focussed preprint platforms as an innovation in the communication of science are removing any of the barriers faced by researchers in the scientific periphery or whether they are increasing access to and visibility of science from the periphery. In response, this paper focusses on the uptake, visibility and academic impact of regional preprint publishing platforms in two peripheral regions (Africa and Latin America) to gain insights into the use and possible impact of regional preprint servers.

Design/methodology/approach

Comparative quantitative analysis using bibliometric and altmetric data to compare six preprint servers (two regional, one global and three discipline-specific).

Findings

There is evidence of the uptake of regional preprint servers, but the uptake is comparatively modest compared with global and discipline-focussed preprint servers. The academic and social visibility of preprints available on regional preprint servers is comparatively lower when compared to other preprint servers. The preprint server SciELO preprint in comparison to AfricArxiv shows signs of increasing growth and visibility, but more time is required to reach any definitive conclusions.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited by the short timeframe that the regional preprint servers have existed compared to some of the other preprint servers. The absence of reliable data on the research populations by region or globally by discipline places limits on the comparability of the raw data.

Originality/value

The article provides for the first time a detailed empirical analysis of the contribution of preprint servers targeted at researchers from the scientific periphery to global science.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-04-2023-0153

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Rodrigo Costas from the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University for providing support in the collection of the Altmetric and Dimensions data during the research, and for accepting him as a guest researcher at CWTS.

Citation

van Schalkwyk, F. (2024), "The scientific periphery and new flows of knowledge: the case of regional preprint servers", Online Information Review, Vol. 48 No. 6, pp. 1088-1102. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-04-2023-0153

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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