從生醫研究者閱讀、引用與公開預印本探討醫學圖書館之預印本學術傳播服務

Abstract

受到Covid-19疫情影響，生醫研究人員為立即取得與公開研究資料，使跳過同儕審查流程的預印本論文（preprints），在疫情期間成為快速傳播與取得研究成果的重要工具，也影響生醫領域的學術傳播模式。醫學圖書館作為協助生醫研究人員進行學術傳播之重要單位，面對預印本帶來的影響，需理解研究人員對預印本的態度與行為，以發展合適的預印本學術傳播服務。 為瞭解生醫研究人員對預印本的看法及其影響行為之因素，進而對醫學圖書館預印本學術傳播服務提供參考建議，本研究以台大醫學院醫學系及其附設醫院之生醫研究人員與醫學圖書館館員為研究對象，透過Ajzen（1991）之計畫行為理論（Theory of Planned Behavior）為架構進行問卷調查法，探討生醫研究人員對預印本的使用現況，與計畫行為理論中「態度」、「主觀規範」、與「知覺行為控制」三個構面，對生醫研究人員未來「閱讀」、「引用」與「公開」預印本行為意圖之影響；並透過對16位生醫研究人員與1位醫學圖書館館員進行半結構式訪談，深入瞭解研究人員對預印本的看法，同時探究醫學圖書館預印本學術傳播服務之機會與挑戰。 研究結果顯示，多數研究人員受到Coivid-19疫情，以及期刊出版社出版流程改變之影響，因而首次接觸預印本，多數生醫研究人員對預印本具有一定程度的熟悉度，但僅約49%曾閱讀預印本，13%曾引用預印本、以及30%曾公開預印本，顯示實際使用經驗有限。在未來意圖方面，研究人員僅閱讀預印本有較高的行為意圖，但考量國內學術體制對預印本之認同不足，以及預印本未經同儕審查之特性，使得未來引用預印本及公開預印本之意圖較低，研究人員對預印本未來於生醫領域的發展亦抱持保留態度，顯示預印本在Coivid-19疫情期間雖展現快速傳播之價值，但未能改變生醫領域之學術傳播模式。第二，透過計畫行為理論，發現研究人員對預印本之「態度」、「主觀規範」皆對閱讀、引用與公開預印本意圖產生正向影響，尤以「態度」為最關鍵因素，顯示若對預印本有越正面之看法，且周圍他人越支持預印本，則研究人員越有閱讀、引用與公開預印本之行為意圖；而「知覺行為控制」則對閱讀與引用行為意圖產生負向影響，意即若研究人員閱讀與引用預印本受到越多自身能力與知識，以及外部學術期刊出版社、學術機構相關規範之限制，則預印本行為意圖則越低。第三，研究人員對圖書館提供預印本認識教育、彙整期刊政策與建置預印本平台等服務抱持期待，惟目前圖書館考量預印本未來發展，在人力資源、制度，以及與研究人員之合作上仍面臨挑戰。 為回應研究人員之需求，本研究對圖書館提出建議如下：(一)增設專責學科服務人力，並塑造鼓勵館員參與研究的組織文化與激勵機制，以提升服務的專業性與深度；(二)建議學科館員提升議題敏感度、透過 AI、同儕合作等模式促進整合資訊之效率、並創造親近研究人員之溝通模式；(三)進行預印本教育宣導，以提高研究人員對預印本之認知；依據不同服務對象規劃彈性服務，提供深度預印本諮詢服務；並建立預印本資源專區，提升服務效率與實用性。期望透過上述建議，強化圖書館作為學術傳播夥伴的角色，協助研究人員面對瞬息萬變的學術傳播流程，並提升整體研究支援效能。 本研究填補目前國內對生醫領域預印本應用之實證研究空白，從量化資料上呈現生醫研究人員預印本行為的真實情形，同時透過質性訪談深入了解研究人員預印本行為動機、未來看法，以及對圖書館服務之需求與期待；此外，研究亦納入醫學圖書館員觀點，分析圖書館在預印本學術傳播服務上的挑戰，據此提供服務設計上的建議，期能作為未來醫學圖書館發展預印本服務之參考。

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated biomedical researchers’ need for rapid information sharing, making preprints—manuscripts shared prior to peer review—have become a vital tool for the swift sharing and acquisition of scientific findings during the pandemic, impacting scholarly communication practices in the biomedical field. As key institutions supporting biomedical researchers in scholarly communication, medical libraries must respond to the growing influence of preprints by developing appropriate services. To understand biomedical researchers’ perceptions of preprints and the factors influencing their behaviors, and to provide recommendations for medical libraries in developing preprint-related scholarly communication services. The study targets biomedical researchers and medical librarians at the school of medicine, college of medicine, National Taiwan University (NTU) and its affiliated hospital. Using Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior as the theoretical framework, a questionnaire survey was conducted to examine the current use of preprints and the influence of the theory’s three components—attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control—on their intentions to read, cite, and publish preprints in the future. Additionally, semi-structured interviews with 16 biomedical researchers and 1 medical librarian were conducted to gain deeper insights into researchers’ views on preprints and to explore the opportunities and challenges of preprint services in medical libraries.The findings reveal that most biomedical researchers were first introduced to preprints during the COVID-19 pandemic or as a result of changes in journal publishing workflows. While the majority of participants reported a moderate to high level of familiarity with preprints, actual usage remains limited. In terms of future behavioral intention, researchers showed relatively high intent to read preprints, but lower intent to cite or publish them. This hesitation stems from the lack of recognition of preprints within Taiwan’s academic system and concerns regarding their non–peer-reviewed nature. Secondly, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, the study found that researchers’ attitudes and subjective norms both had a positive influence on their intentions to read, cite, and publish preprints, with attitude being the most influential factor. This suggests that the more positively researchers perceive preprints, and the more support they receive from peers or the academic community, thestronger their intention to engage in preprint-related behaviors. In contrast, perceived behavioral control showed a negative effect on the intention to read and cite preprints, indicating that the more researchers perceive limitations related to their own knowledge and skills, as well as restrictions imposed by journal publishers or academic institutions, the lower their intention to use preprints. Thirdly, researchers expressed strong interest in libraries providing services such as preprint education, policy aggregation, and platform support. However, due to uncertainties surrounding the future of preprints, libraries still face challenges in staffing, institutional support, and collaboration with researchers. In response to researchers’ needs, this study proposes the following recommendations for medical libraries: (1) Increase dedicated subject service personnel, and foster an organizational culture and incentive mechanisms that encourage librarians’ participation in research, thereby enhancing the professionalism and sustainability of services; (2) encourage subject librarians to enhance their sensitivity to emerging issues, improve the efficiency of information integration through approaches such as AI and peer collaboration, and develop communication models that foster closer engagement with researchers.; (3) promote preprint education to raise researchers’ awareness, offer flexible services tailored to different user groups, provide in-depth consultation on preprints, and establish dedicated preprint resource sections to improve service efficiency and practicality. These recommendations aim to reinforce the role of medical libraries as partners in scholarly communication, assist researchers in effectively utilizing preprint platforms, and enhance overall research support effectiveness. This study fills a current gap in empirical research on the use of preprints in the biomedical field in Taiwan. It presents a quantitative overview of biomedical researchers’ actual behaviors related to preprints, while also employing qualitative interviews to gain deeper insight into their motivations, future perspectives, and expectations regarding library services. In addition, the study incorporates the viewpoints of medical librarians to analyze the challenges faced by libraries in providing preprint-related scholarly communication services. Based on these findings, the study offers recommendations for service design, aiming to serve as a reference for the future development of preprint services in medical libraries.