Electronically posted expanded reprints of already published papers will have their original citation clearly identified, with a link to the original article. We doubt that we will be able to create an archive in international health on our own. Therefore, we are seeking partnerships with other organisations to add further content to this site and to help us find ways to promote collaboration between scientists in the South and North. In addition to The Lancet 's ERA in international health, this week we also launch the journal's new eprint server. The aim of this service is to widen peer review of papers and so strengthen the quality of the subsequent print version of the article.
Eprint publication overcomes that objection.
After 4-6 weeks, comments will be collected and used to invite the authors to revise and improve their paper. The Lancet welcomes further submission of eprint reports to be considered for peer review and publication. These two electronic experiments will thrive only if readers use them or tell us how they can be improved. Despite a great deal of talk about self-archiving and eprints in medicine, we have no idea whether the medical community is ready for them. Physicists have embraced both initiatives with enthusiasm, but many doctors have deep and understandable reservations about their use in the medical sciences.