FAQ

Submissions and publications

• What is the main advantage of publishing my work in BioHackrXiv?
  • Most works coming out of BioHackathon-like events have no place in traditional publications, including domain-based preprints as they commonly do not report on-going work, BioHackrXiv does. We have created BioHackrXiv to fulfil a need observed as organizers and participants of the NBDC/DBCLS BioHackathon and BioHackathon Europe series.
• Whom I can contact in case of questions on the appropriateness of my article?
  • Please check the submission guidelines as you will find there information on the kind of submissions that will be considered. If you still have doubts, you can contact us by email
• Should I suggest potential referees to review my manuscript?
  • There is no peer-review process for preprints. We follow a moderation process with pre-established moderation boards.
• I understand there is no peer- review process, how do you ensure the material you get has a decent quality?
  • We follow a moderation process but quality is not part of it.
• Are submissions in color (in contrast to black&white) accepted?
  • Either color or black&white submissions are accepted.
• How long after a BioHackathon-like event is over can I still submit a manuscript?
  • Moderation boards will remain open for 18 months but we still can accept later submissions. However, in order to keep the novelty factor of work done during hackathon-like events, we recommend to submit during the first 6 months after.
• How much time typically does it take to publish my work in BioHackrXiv?
  • We aim to have a decision before 5 days but the process can take up to two weeks.
• Will my paper be tagged as being the output of one specific event? E.g. NBDC/DBCLS BioHackathon 2019?
  • It will not be tagged but the event will be clearly visible on the generated PDF. For more information on the PDF generation visit the preview service and the generator tool pages.
• Will my manuscript get a DOI?
  • Yes, it will.
• Can I correct errors on my preprint after publication? How?
  • Yes, you can always resubmit a new version. Go to your submissions (you will need to log in on the OSF preprints website), locate the one you want to re-submit and follow the process you did as part of the initial submission.
• Can I remove a preprint that was already published? (= withdraw my manuscript)
  • Yes, you can do so but it is not an automatic/immediate process and requires approval by the Steering Committee. You can go to your submission list and then use the button “Withdraw”, you must submit a reason to do so and then the Steering Committee will decide whether or not to approve it. You will be notified once a decision has been made.
• Will BioHackrXiv keep the rights on my preprint?
  • No, authors own rights.
• My preprint has not been published even though I got a confirmation that it was accepted, what should I do?
  • Please contact the Steering Committee at: biohackrxiv@googlegroups.com
• Can I submit my article to another journal after getting it published in BioHackrXiv?
  • Yes, some peer-reviewed journals do accept submissions that have been shared before as a preprint. We recommend you always consult the journal policies of which you consider to submit.
• Where can I find the names of the people in the moderation board, steering committee, etc?
  • Find here the moderation board page where you will find the list of moderation boards and people involved. Current steering committee members are listed at the BioHackrXiv website.

Payments

• Do I need to pay for getting my manuscript published in BioKacrXiv?
  • No, we offer our preprint server for free. We do welcome sponsorship, if your institution is interested in becoming a sponsor, please send us an email.
• Is there a fee to read the preprints already published?
  • BioHackrXiv, as part of OSF preprints, promotes Open Science; therefore, there is no fee to get access to any of the preprints available under BioHackrXiv.

Technical corner

• Is there an API to perform text mining on the preprints?
  • We do not provide a dedicated API for BioHackrXiv but OSF does, visit OSF API pages for more information.