The Chinese language version of this FAQ is now available. 该常见问题解答的中文版本现已推出

In support of Open Science, SSRN’s First Look Program allows authors submitting research to participating journals to share their clinical and research outcomes early in the form of a non-peer-reviewed preprint. Authors submitting a manuscript to a participating journal can choose to simultaneously post their manuscript as a publicly available preprint on SSRN. This enables early and open dissemination of research and stimulates collaboration and early citations.

In parallel, the journal will organize peer-review through the normal routine editorial workflow and your paper will be publicly available as a preprint on SSRN during the journal review process. The author’s choice to opt-in has no effect on the editorial process or outcome of the journal decision.

What is SSRN?

SSRN is Elsevier’s preprint and early research platform. Posting a preprint allows authors to share their research quickly and widely ahead of peer review and publication. SSRN is not a publisher, papers submitted to this platform are not considered ‘published’ or the final version, but a version still under consideration unless otherwise noted.

For more detailed information about SSRN

What is First Look on SSRN?

SSRN partners with many journals in providing a preprint service to researchers with just one-click. SSRN offers both branded and non-branded services for journals, and depending on a journal’s relationship with SSRN, journals may opt to have branded landing and public abstract pages on SSRN. Both types offer the same seamless submission process for authors.

What is Elsevier’s relationship with SSRN?

Many of Elsevier’s journals work with SSRN to provide you with an efficient, one click 'opt-in' process for the upload of your preprint manuscript to SSRN, one of the world’s largest preprint servers, with more journals joining regularly. SSRN also hosts thousands of preprints of papers published in non-Elsevier journals and elsewhere.

What is a Preprint?

A preprint is the author’s early version of an article – in many instances this paper has been or is about to be submitted to a journal. The preprint offers immediate, free access to a world-wide audience. It has not been validated by the critical process of peer review and as such cannot be considered as conclusive. As a sign of their increased acceptance in the scholarly record, preprints can be cited. If the final published version of a manuscript is available, it is a recommended practice to cite the published journal article rather than the preprint.

Want to learn more about preprints?

What are the benefits to sharing my preprint on SSRN?

Peer review is an important part of the journal publishing strategy; nonetheless, publication can take weeks or months after submission. Posting preprints on SSRN allows your research to be quickly and widely available to the research community and provides early registration and dissemination for manuscripts under consideration for publication. Positive outcomes may include:

• Research is discovered earlier in the publication process. Each preprint is assigned a DOI providing a permanent record of this early research and establishing priority of discovery.
• Authors can solicit and receive feedback on their findings with the potential for further scientific discourse and enhancement.
• Increased citation and altmetrics numbers. Although not always easy to quantify, some studies show that posting a paper on a preprint server can improve these results.

Most publishers allow preprints to be shared anywhere anytime. Articles that are rejected after peer-review can stay online as most journals support preprint posting and will typically not count this as prior publication.

What happens when I agree to share my research early on SSRN?

• Your paper will be sent to SSRN as it is being submitted/reviewed by the journal. SSRN does not control when we receive your paper. The journal controls the timing of when the paper is sent to SSRN.
• Your co-authors must agree to posting your preprint on SSRN.
• Your choice to opt-in has no effect on the editorial process or outcome of the journal decision – it will be neither more nor less likely to be accepted for publication.
• Once received by SSRN, your manuscript will be made live after it undergoes a check for completeness and relevance. It will also be provided a DOI and become a part of the permanent scholarly record.
• Your manuscript will become publicly available on SSRN and will be searchable on the world wide web.

What is SSRN’s copyright policy?

We do not ask you to transfer copyright for any papers (or other documents) you post on SSRN. When you upload a paper, you give SSRN the non-exclusive right to post and distribute your paper. You retain the right to remove your paper from SSRN at any time. When you provide material to SSRN and accept our Terms of Use, you confirm to us that your submission does not violate other parties’ copyright or other proprietary rights.

How did my paper get posted on SSRN?

During submission to an Elsevier journal, the submitting author checked a tick box asking Elsevier to have your paper posted on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint platform partner. Preprints are only posted on SSRN if an author actively opts-in during the submission process to a journal by checking the tick box by the answer ‘YES, I want to share my research early and openly as a preprint’ in the section titled ‘Free Preprint Service’ within Editorial Manager.

Manuscripts will be publicly available as a preprint on SSRN during the journal review process.

What if I submitted my manuscript to a double-anonymous peer-reviewed journal?

We support the early sharing of research results, but acknowledge that this may allow easier discovery of author identities online. Please note that reviewers are instructed to perform an objective evaluation of a manuscript when agreeing to a double-anonymous review and we trust that they will not go out of their way to undermine author anonymity.

Will it negatively affect my chances of publication to have a preprint?

Most reputable journals and publishers are supportive of preprints and value the contribution to the scientific and scholarly record and will not reject manuscripts that have been shared previously as preprints. With Elsevier, your choice to opt-in and send your manuscript to SSRN has no effect on the editorial process or outcome of the journal decision.

What if my paper is rejected from the Elsevier journal I submitted to?

We are sorry if this happens. When a manuscript is rejected after peer-review, your SSRN preprint can stay online as most journals support preprint posting. Your research will have been time stamped with a DOI and shared as a preprint and may already be getting notice, social media attention, or citations as you submit to another journal. Please check if your next journal/publisher indeed posed no restrictions on preprint posting, as a few publishers or journal editors do. You can check the list of journals on SHERPA/RoMEO for any non-standard policies.

What happens if my paper is flagged by a publisher as plagiarism because it is on SSRN?

SSRN is not a publisher and preprints posted on our site should never be considered a published work unless otherwise stated. Some plagiarism checkers will flag preprint servers like SSRN as previously published work, but this is not the case. If you feel that your preprint was incorrectly flagged as a duplicate, please contact the journal directly. We regret this inconvenience to authors.

What are medical and health care preprints?

A medical or health care preprint is a research or medical/clinical or health care related study that is posted publicly, that has not undergone peer review and as such cannot be regarded as conclusive. It should not be used to guide clinical practice. Please view our FAQ on medical or health care preprints.

The medical and health care fields are unique and areas where extra caution is needed. We support that community by specifically ensuring that the papers we post have no potential to cause harm or to compromise human health. For that reason, we screen medical and health care submissions for certain elements including ethics approval, declaration of Interest, funding sources, and trial registration numbers (where appropriate). In addition, we ensure that posted papers do not reveal the identity of patients. We remain committed to early posting and dissemination of research in all areas.

How do I provide required medical or health care information to SSRN?

The medical and health care fields are unique areas where extra caution is needed. We support that community by specifically ensuring that the papers we post have no potential to cause harm or to compromise human health. For that reason, we screen medical and health care related submissions for certain elements including ethics approval, declaration of Interest, funding sources, and trial registration numbers (where appropriate). In addition, we ensure that posted papers do not reveal the identity of patients. We remain committed to early posting and dissemination of research in all areas.

SSRN may request that you supply additional information as part of our medical or health care review process.

View our FAQ SSRN Medical or Health Care Preprint Checklist to learn about what information may be requested.

Why can't I find my paper on SSRN?

I submitted my paper to SSRN, but my submission is not visible on the 'My Papers' page or via Search

Your paper may not be available on our site for a few different reasons. One possibility is that your paper may contain medical or health-related content, which triggers a deeper review process by SSRN's Medical Team to ensure transparency and compliance with best practices regarding health data. This review process can delay the public availability of the paper until the review is completed. This is not a peer review process, but we are screening for disclosure of ethics, conflicts/declaration of interest, funding and trial registration (where appropriate).

Another reason could be that SSRN may be waiting for additional information from you before making the paper publicly available. Your paper may be absent from search results until the requested information is provided.

Rest assured, our team will work quickly to restore your submission once we have all the full details.

Was your paper sent to SSRN via the opt-in submission process available via the SSRN Elsevier First Look Program?

If you opt to have your preprint sent to SSRN the journal will send the paper to SSRN at the time of submission, or when it goes under review with the journal. SSRN does not control when we receive your paper. The journal controls the timing of when the paper is sent to SSRN.

If your paper contains medical or health-related content and relies on tables and figures to explain certain concepts, we may be unable to make the paper public as we do not always receive tables and figures in the transfer from Editorial Manager. In addition, submissions that include files in LaTeX format may not be available to SSRN. This is something that SSRN is currently working on, but if you are able to share the data with SSRN, we can assist you in making the paper public.

If you would like more detailed information about medical content on SSRN or have specific questions about your paper's status, you may want to visit the FAQ section titled "What are medical or health care preprints?" or click on the Email link below and submit a ticket to SSRN Customer Support.

What happened to my supplementary files?

The automated process for transferring your manuscript file from Editorial Manager to SSRN does not currently support transfer of additional, supplementary files. You may be asked for additional information once received by SSRN.

Your manuscript that undergoes peer-review in parallel to SSRN preprint posting will have a complete set of files, and the peer-reviewed Version of Record will display all files that you submitted as integral part of the manuscript, as well as include links to data/code posted separately in relevant repositories.

What is a DOI and will my preprint receive a DOI?

A digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique and persistent link to specific electronically published content. DOIs are often used to identify academic, professional, and government information, such as journal articles, research reports and data sets, and official publications. DOIs make a paper significantly easier to find and cite.

Preprints on SSRN receive a DOI and become part of the permanent scientific record and should in principle not be removed as this results in broken citation links and unresolved references. Preprints can remain live even if the manuscript is rejected from a journal.

To find out more about DOIs view the FAQ What is a DOI and how does it help my research?

How do I add a link to the Version of Record when published? 

SSRN will track the publication status of your manuscript and will automatically create a link on the preprint’s SSRN page to the final article to direct readers to the latest and peer-reviewed version of your article. NOTE: Currently, this is only available for papers published in Elsevier journals participating in the program.

What is a 'Publication Status' on SSRN?

Manuscripts related to branded First Look preprints can be at different stages in the editorial, review, or publication process. The publication status will be updated to reflect where the manuscript is in the journal review process. It is important to note that while your manuscript will remain on SSRN, we will never indicate if your manuscript has been rejected by the journal.

How do I add a link to the Version of Record when published? 

How do I get an update on the Journal’s review process and decision? 

How do I access my submission on SSRN? 

To access your free account that was created for you when we received your submission, login to SSRN. If you aren't sure of your SSRN credentials, click on 'Forgot Password' from the SSRN log in screen.

Can my submission be abstract only?

Preprints submitted via the First Look program cannot be abstract only.

How do I revise or remove my submission on SSRN?

Authors can make changes to their preprint through SSRN’s revision process. Changes you make on SSRN are not visible to the journal – they will be reviewing the version you submitted to them directly.

Authors can remove their preprint from SSRN by modifying their submission through their ‘My Papers’ page.

If you see 'Restricted by Publisher' next to the submission on your My Papers page, the publisher or journal has restricted the ability for you to revise or edit your submission. For assistance, contact SSRN using the links available at the bottom of this page. 

How can I add additional authors to my preprint?

You can request exceptional but legitimate changes to be made through the journal editors to appear in the published version of record, or after rejection from the journal, by following the normal procedures for submitting revised versions to SSRN for authors of regular preprints.

Can I submit more of my work to SSRN?

Yes! We encourage authors to post all their work to SSRN. SSRN log in screen.

I didn’t opt-in at the time of submission in Editorial Manager can I now add my paper to SSRN?

Yes! You can use our simple submission form to add your preprint manuscript to SSRN after your submission to an Elsevier journal. Preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy and this will have no effect on the editorial process or outcome with the journal. What is the best way for me to submit my research to SSRN?

How can I find out more about my journal partnering with SSRN’s First Look?

There are currently close to 1000 journals offering authors the opportunity to opt-in to send their paper to SSRN. Please reach out to [email protected] for more information on how to become a First Look partner. You can view an active list of Branded First Looks and our list of current partners on First Look on SSRN. 

How does my preprint get maximum visibility?

First Look preprints are cross-classified into other relevant research topics within SSRN. This is a great way to increase both the discoverability of First Look preprints and exposure of First Look journals.

How can I share and cite my preprint? 

All standard reference managers and reference style guides provide instructions on how to cite preprints. First Look preprints can be cited using the unique DOI number and following those standard recommendations. For your convenience, you can find the exact reference on the SSRN preprint page and cut and paste accordingly. Feel free to share your preprint via social media. After publication of the Version of Record in a journal, it is highly recommended to use the new DOI number assigned to this final peer-reviewed version of your article.

Can I post my preprint on multiple preprint sites?

You hold the copyright to your manuscript and are free to post it to other sites, however you should be aware that posting a manuscript on multiple preprint servers may dilute downloads and other metrics on each site. In addition, as SSRN provides a DOI for your manuscript, as may other servers, posting to multiple sites can cause confusion in regard to tracking, citing, and metrics of your paper.

Why do I find my SSRN preprint on other websites?

SSRN does not share your preprint manuscript with other websites. It does, however, deposit metadata associated with your preprint in Crossref, which can be indexed and reused by other websites and services. Depositing metadata for research objects is an industry standard practice to improve discoverability and maintain the scholarly record.

It is possible that someone reposted your preprint, or a website created a record of it using publicly available metadata. If your work is posted elsewhere, you should contact the other platform if you want the work removed.

How do I get an update on the Journal’s review process and decision?

Please visit the Journal Article Publishing Support Center for helpful information related to your Elsevier submission. You can check on the progress of your paper’s editorial review by logging on to your account as an author to Editorial Manager. For more information visit the FAQ How can I track the status of my submitted article.