Improving preprint withdrawals: A template based approach

A review of recent published and grey literature revealed that practices in the preprint landscape are currently very varied, particularly regarding the “permanence” of preprints. The rapid increase of preprints during the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened concerns that the lack of transparency and clear communication about the status of preprints fuels misinformation and misunderstanding, puts public health at risk and might erode society’s trust in science. Through the current proposal, we seek to ameliorate one challenging aspect of using preprints - namely, their withdrawals - through introducing a transferrable, informative, interoperable, and transparent preprint withdrawal template. This template is currently being piloted on the Cambridge Open Engage platform.