OSF Preprints made SocArXiv possible. Working with COS allowed us to do what we were best at: community building and advocating for open scholarship practices in our disciplines.

Philip N. Cohen
Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park Director, SocArXiv

Preprints have gained wide acceptance as a means of sharing research findings faster and more openly compared with the standard publishing model. Since its adoption of OSF Preprints in 2016, SocArXiv has provided an open platform for social scientists seeking to make their papers open access, increase the visibility of their work, and engage with peers to improve the quality of their research.

Researchers shared more than 2,000 papers on SocArXiv in 2022, reflecting the growing adoption within the social science research community. Moreover, establishing this platform increased engagement in open practices throughout the entire research lifecycle.

“The connection to OSF allows us to promote a more holistic reorientation of scholarly communication practices,” said Cohen. “Many people have ended up using OSF to support their projects and disseminate research materials after coming to SocArXiv to share a paper – it’s a key part of building a wider awareness of the need to change our research culture.”

Apart from using the OSF Preprints infrastructure for technical support, SocArXiv receives financial and organizational backing from the University of Maryland Libraries, which is also an OSF Institutions member.

“What we have is the service our communities need, run by and for the academy in the public interest,” said Cohen. “Working with COS gives us the rare privilege of a truly mission-aligned platform, where I never have to worry that we have conflicting interests with our hosts. This has been crucial for building our service, because it signals to the research community that we are a trustworthy partner.”