The potential of preprints to accelerate scholarly communication - A bibliometric analysis based on selected journals

Abstract: This paper quantifies to which extent preprints in arXiv accelerate scholarly communication. The following subject fields were investigated up to the year 2012: High Energy Physics (HEP), Mathematics, Astrophysics, Quantitative Biology, and Library and Information Science (LIS). Publication and citation data was downloaded from Scopus and matched with corresponding preprints in arXiv. Furthermore, the INSPIRE HEP database was used to retrieve citation data for papers related to HEP. The bibliometric analysis deals with the growth in numbers of articles published having a previous preprint in arXiv and the publication delay, which is defined as the chronological distance between the deposit of a preprint in arXiv and its formal journal publication. Likewise, the citation delay is analyzed, which describes the time it takes until the first citation of preprints, and articles, respectively. Total citation numbers are compared for sets of articles with a previous preprint and those without. The results show that in all fields but biology a significant citation advantage exists in terms of speed and citation rates for articles with a previous preprint version on arXiv.