NISO RP-35-2020, JATS4R Preprint Citations, Version 1.0
Abstract
In order to differentiate cited preprint articles from journal articles we recommend that a value of “preprint” is used to populate the @publication-type attribute when citing the article as it was published on the preprint server.
Preprints have not been certified by journal-organized peer review. Most preprint servers apply some screening before a preprint is posted. Also, some preprints receive some form of review (e.g., Review Commons) and may have improved as a result, but the important difference is that the preprint version precedes journal acceptance.
Note, JATS4R does not have a position on publishing practices; whether a journal updates preprint citations to journal citations should the article be subsequently published in a journal is up to the individual journal policy.
This recommendation applies to JATS 1.0 and forward.
