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Post-publication peer review is not one system: it can mean a platform’s formal review of work already made public, public assessment of a reviewed preprint, or community discussion of a paper published elsewhere. Those distinctions matter. A paper can be available to read without having passed peer review, and public commentary is not the same as a journal’s editorial certification.

What is post-publication peer review?

It is assessment of research after the work has been made publicly available. The label covers different arrangements: some platforms manage formal peer review after initial publication; some publish a reviewed preprint with public assessments; and some host discussion of papers published through other channels. The processes differ in editorial oversight, reviewer selection, visibility, and what status the paper receives.

F1000 describes its publishing venues as using a post-publication open peer-review model. That broad description should not be mistaken for a universal template: eLife’s Reviewed Preprints and PubPeer discussions work differently. F1000’s peer-review explainer and a systematic review of open peer review provide further context on the range of practices.

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How do the three visible models differ?

Model When the work is public What the assessment is What readers should check
F1000Research The article is published before peer review. Platform-managed open peer review, with review reports and an article status tied to the review process. Its current review status, how many reports exist, and what those reports say. Zero or one reports means the article has not passed peer review under its policy.
eLife Reviewed Preprint A paper eLife sends for review is published as a Reviewed Preprint. An eLife assessment and individual public reviews accompany the paper; eLife does not make an accept-or-reject decision after peer review. The assessment, the reviews, revisions, and whether the authors later chose to publish a Version of Record.
PubPeer Discussion concerns papers already published elsewhere. A public forum for discussion and review, not a journal’s formal reviewer-selection and editorial process. The discussion’s evidence and whether claims rely on publicly verifiable information, as PubPeer’s FAQ says they should.

For policy details, see F1000Research’s publishing policies, eLife’s descriptions of publishing without gatekeeping and peer review and publishing, and PubPeer’s FAQ. Policies can change, so consult the platform’s current explanation when evaluating a particular article.

Is a paper published before peer review considered peer reviewed?

Not necessarily. Publication may make a paper available while review is still underway. Under F1000Research’s stated policy, an article with zero or one review report has not passed peer review and is not indexed in PubMed, Scopus, and other bibliographic databases. Readers should not infer a successful review from the fact that an article has a publication page.

Check the platform’s displayed status and read the reports themselves. The number of reports alone does not convey their substance; the reports and any author responses or revisions show what reviewers assessed and how the paper changed.

How does eLife’s Reviewed Preprint model work?

For papers eLife sends for review, the work is published as a Reviewed Preprint alongside an eLife assessment and individual public reviews. eLife says it no longer makes an accept-or-reject decision after peer review. Authors can later choose to publish a Version of Record. These terms describe different stages and should not be collapsed into the familiar assumption that peer review ends in a journal acceptance decision.

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Readers can use the public assessment and reviews to understand how the paper was evaluated, while checking the article’s versions to see whether the authors revised it and whether a Version of Record was subsequently published.

What does PubPeer discussion establish?

PubPeer offers a place to discuss and review papers already published elsewhere. Its FAQ says discussion should rely on publicly verifiable information. That makes the forum a source of scrutiny and commentary, not a certificate that a paper has passed a journal’s editorial review. A comment should be judged on its evidence and reasoning, rather than treated as a formal editorial finding simply because it appears on a paper’s discussion page.

What does the historical evidence say about uptake?

A 2018 study examined 1,865 articles published on F1000Research between 13 July 2012 and 30 November 2017. The study authors reported that 80% (1,488) had successfully undergone peer review and were indexed on PubMed within at least six months of first publication. These figures describe that specific platform cohort and historical period; they are not a current adoption rate, a measure for other platforms, or evidence that post-publication review produces better outcomes. The study abstract on PubMed gives the cohort and findings.

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Does post-publication review make research better?

The documented features—visible reports, assessments, discussion, and article version histories—can help readers see how work was evaluated and revised. But those features alone do not establish that a paper is correct, nor do the sources cited here demonstrate that post-publication models are superior to conventional peer review for research quality, fairness, speed, or integrity. The defensible conclusion is narrower: these models make different parts of assessment visible, and readers need to interpret each paper’s actual status and evidence.

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