News Audiences Appreciate Details about a Study’s Preprint Status, But Message Perceptions and Amount of Detail Matter

This study examined whether disclosing a study’s preprint status in a news report affects audience perceptions and behavioural intensions. In an online experiment, 433 US adults read a news report describing research as a “preprint”—along with either a brief or expanded explanation—or as simply a “study.” For those who perceived the disclosure, even the brief description enhanced perceived credibility of the journalism, which in turn positively affected behavioral intentions. These effects were enhanced for the expanded description. Perceiving the science as uncertain negatively mediated the effect of preprint disclosure, but only among Republicans.