Editorial policy for pre-print publications
Definition and Scope
The journal Tlamati recognizes the deposit and dissemination of preprints (versions of manuscripts prior to peer review) as a legitimate and valuable practice within the open science ecosystem. This policy aims to foster the rapid dissemination of knowledge, increase the visibility of research results, and promote early academic dialogue, without compromising the integrity of the peer review process or copyright.
A preprint is defined as the initial version of a manuscript that has been submitted to the journal but has not yet undergone peer review, copyediting, editing, or formatting. This version may be deposited by authors in preprint repositories, institutional repositories, or subject-specific repositories (such as arXiv, bioRxiv, medRxiv, SocArXiv, Zenodo, etc.) before, during, or after submission to the journal.
Guiding Principles
This policy is based on the following principles:
Principle
Description
Open Access
Knowledge should be freely and promptly available to all of society.
Speed in Scientific Communication
Preprints accelerate the exchange of findings, especially in rapidly evolving fields.
Transparency
Authors must clearly state that the preprint has not been peer-reviewed or certified by the journal.
No Duplication
The publication of a preprint does not constitute prior publication that would preclude consideration of the manuscript.
Academic Integrity
Authors are responsible for the content of the preprint and for not submitting versions containing serious errors, falsified data, or plagiarism.
Conditions for Submitting Preprints
Authors wishing to submit a preprint of their manuscript must comply with the following conditions:
3.1. Permitted Version
- Submission of the version sent to the journal (preprint) is permitted before, during, or after the peer-review process.
- Submission of the final accepted version (post-print) or the published version (formatted PDF) as a pre-print is not permitted.
3.2. Authorized Repositories
Authors may deposit their pre-prints in:
- Recognized pre-print repositories (arXiv, bioRxiv, medRxiv, SocArXiv, OSF Preprints, etc.)
- Institutional repositories (e.g., Institutional Repository of [Institution])
- Subject-specific repositories (e.g., Zenodo, HAL, SSRN)
- Open science platforms (e.g., GitHub, Figshare, ResearchGate – for non-commercial purposes)
3.3. Mandatory Declarations
In the deposited pre-print, authors must visibly include:
The following statement:
> This manuscript is a pre-print submitted to the journal [Journal Name] ([ISSN]). It has not yet been peer-reviewed or certified by the journal. Therefore, it should not be used for clinical purposes, decision-making, or as a final version. This work should be cited as a 'preliminary version'.
The DOI or persistent identifier assigned by the repository.
The publication license (preferably Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International – CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
The authors' full names and affiliations, as well as their ORCID identifiers.
3.4. Relationship to Submission to the Journal
- Authors may deposit the preprint before, during, or after submission to the journal.
- Prior authorization from the editorial committee is not required to deposit a preprint.
- Authors are advised to update the deposited preprint with the accepted version (postprint) only after the article has been published by the journal, adding the corresponding caption and a link to the final version.
Peer Review Process and Preprints
4.1. Confidentiality
Reviewers and editors agree not to search for, read, or cite preprints of Manuscripts that are actively under review should not be submitted, unless the author has explicitly disclosed this information and it does not compromise the confidentiality of the process.
4.2. Citing Preprints
Authors may cite preprints from other researchers in their manuscripts, provided that:
- It is clearly identified as a preprint (without peer review).
- The DOI or stable URL is included.
- The copyright and license of the preprint are respected.
Recommended citation format (APA 7th edition):
> Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of the work (preprint) [Preprint]. Repository. DOI or URL
4.3. Conflicts with Anonymity
In double-blind peer review processes (such as the one used by this journal), authors must anonymize their preprint (removing names, affiliations, and any other information that could reveal their identity) when submitting it for review, even if they have already submitted a previous version with their information. The editor you may request that you be removed
