Q. What are the different versions of an article in the publishing process?

(To send to users when explaining that an OA version of something they want is available)

Article versions in the publishing process

Authors write an article. It hasn’t been published, it hasn’t had any errors corrected and it isn’t formatted by the publisher. This is called a PREPRINT or a SUBMITTED version.

The authors send this preprint to a journal to be published. Before being published, the article is sent out to other academics working in the field to review it and suggest any changes or errors that need correcting. The authors then make these changes and resubmit the article. This version with the changes incorporated is called the ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT or POSTPRINT. Some journals may make this version available on their website, calling it EARLY VIEW or ONLINE FIRST.

The journal copy-edits the article and brands it. They then send it to the authors to check they are happy with it. This version is called the PROOF.

The publisher makes their formatted and finished version available on their website. This is called the VERSION OF RECORD or PUBLISHED VERSION.

Open access tools might find all of the above versions, and it’s useful to know which one you’re looking at.