Preprint
A manuscript posted publicly before peer review, on a server such as arXiv, bioRxiv, medRxiv, or SSRN.
Preprints exist to make results available immediately rather than after the months a journal takes. They are citable, versioned, and usually get a DOI — but they have not been refereed, and the conclusions may change or disappear in review.
Cite one only when you need to, and label it. Most styles require an explicit “Preprint” marker so the reader knows what they are getting. If a peer-reviewed version has since appeared, cite that instead, and check whether the finding you are relying on survived.
Do it on CitationEasy
See also
Peer reviewThe process by which independent researchers in a field evaluate a manuscript before a journal agrees to publish it.arXiv IDThe identifier for a preprint on arXiv, in the form 2403.01234, with a version suffix marking which revision you read.Postprint (accepted manuscript)The version of a paper after peer review but before the publisher's typesetting — the version most repositories are allowed to host.Version of recordThe publisher's final, typeset, citable version of an article — the one page numbers and DOIs point at.