"Pre-prints" is a term usually used to
describe early, uncopyrighted versions of journal articles (more about journals) that are later submitted
for publication in academic journals. Pre-print servers provide
you with full-text, pre-publication versions of research articles
(thus getting around the issue of copyright). You get free access
to high quality research papers that differ only slightly from the
published version.
Pre-print servers tend to index and store the output
of major academic or government funded research institutions. They
therefore represent a high quality research resource. They are particularly
associated with science subjects (especially physics and computing)
and psychology.
