During the process of its publication, an article goes through various stages.
- Pre-print refers to an article which has not undergone peer review yet. It can always be archived in a repository which permits the Green Road.
- Post-print (or Author-Accepted Manuscript) is the version of the article that has been accepted by the publisher but has not yet been formatted. It can be archived in a repository following the Green Road: it will be available according to the contractual deadlines set by the publishers, who may provide for an embargo, i.e. a waiting period of varying length. Sherpa Romeo database permits to check publisher policies.
- The published version (Version of Record) is the final version of the paper, formatted according to publisher’s requirements.
Source: National Library of Medicine: What Is a Preprint?
