Comparative study between characteristics and metadata of preprint repositories

The recent interest in preprints as a new way of communicating science and its acceptance by the scientific community has resulted in the growing number of preprint repositories, mainly due to the speed with which articles can reach researchers. Preprints are understood as manuscripts that have not yet been published in scientific journals, therefore, have not yet gone through the peer review process. The objective of this study is to compare the main characteristics and metadata of four preprint repositories - Arxiv, bioRxiv, EmeRI and SSRN. Through a qualitative approach methodology carried out in three stages: a bibliographic research, a web search of preprints repositories and the elaboration of a comparative table, it was verified that the analyzed repositories have policies and practices for the broadcast of preprints. In addition to offering metadata that influence the retrieval and access of information, as well as the preservation of indexed documents.