Preprint Policy
ACDM · Arts, Communication & Digital Media
Definition of a Preprint
A preprint is a version of a scholarly manuscript that is posted to a public platform (e.g., arXiv, medRxiv, SSRN, ResearchGate, or institutional repositories) prior to or in parallel with formal peer review by a journal.
Preprint Posting Is Allowed
ACDM allows authors to deposit a preprint version of their manuscript on recognized preprint servers at any time — before, during, or after journal submission. Posting a preprint is not considered prior publication and will not negatively affect the editorial evaluation.
License Recommendation
Authors are encouraged to apply a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license to their preprints to maximize discoverability and reuse, in alignment with open science principles.
Notification to the Journal
Authors should notify the journal during submission if a preprint version of the manuscript has been posted. This can be done in the cover letter by providing the preprint DOI or URL.
Post‑Acceptance Update
Upon acceptance, authors are encouraged to update the preprint record by adding a link to the final published version and the article's DOI. This helps connect the preprint with the peer-reviewed version and improves citation tracking.
Citing Preprints
Authors may cite preprints as references, provided they are publicly available and have a stable identifier (e.g., DOI, handle). However, the journal strongly recommends citing the peer-reviewed version whenever possible.
Last updated: May 2026. ACDM follows COPE guidelines.