Understanding the Use of e-Prints on Reddit and 4chan’s Politically Incorrect Board

What is it about?

The dissemination and reach of scientific knowledge have increased at a blistering pace. In this context, e-Print servers have played a central role by providing scientists with a rapid and open mechanism for disseminating research without waiting for the (lengthy) peer review process. While helping the scientific community in several ways, e-Print servers also provide scientific communicators and the general public with access to a wealth of knowledge without paying hefty subscription fees. This motivates us to study how e-Prints are positioned within Web community discussions. In this paper, we analyze data from two Web communities: 14 years of Reddit data and over 4 from 4chan’s Politically Incorrect board. Our findings highlight the presence of e-Prints in both science-enthusiast and general-audience communities. Real-world events and distinct factors influence the e-Prints people’s discussions; e.g., there was a surge of COVID-19-related research publications during the early months of the outbreak and increased references to e-Prints in online discussions. Text in e-Prints and in online discussions referencing them has a low similarity, suggesting that the latter are not exclusively talking about the findings in the former. Further, our analysis of a sample of threads highlights: 1) misinterpretation and generalization of research findings, 2) early research findings being amplified as a source for future predictions, and 3) questioning findings from a pseudoscientific e-Print. Overall, our work emphasizes the need to quickly and effectively validate non-peer-reviewed e-Prints that get substantial press/social media coverage to help mitigate wrongful interpretations of scientific outputs.

Featured Image

Photo by Elisabeth Morin on Unsplash

Photo by Elisabeth Morin on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our findings show evidence that research findings (i.e., from e-Print articles) are used/mentioned/cited by laypeople. This phenomenon is exacerbated by the open-access nature of the e-Prints. Moreover, we find the research findings being misinterpreted to bolster the user's agenda. Therefore, it is very important for us (i.e., scientists, researchers, academia, etc.) to find additional ways to communicate our research findings to these broader audiences to mitigate cases like the misinterpretation of findings, pseudo-science findings being used as gold standards, etc.

Perspectives