Autonomous, bidding, credible, decentralized, ethical, and funded (ABCDEF) publishing

TL;DR

The paper proposes a new system called ABCDEF publishing that uses Web3 technology to improve the fairness and transparency of scientific research and publishing.

Contribution

The novel contribution is integrating ethics reviews, peer reviews, and funding into a decentralized system using Web3 technology.

Findings

ABCDEF publishing aims to enhance the speed, fairness, and transparency of scientific research.

The system integrates ethics, peer reviews, and funding in a decentralized manner.

Web3 technology is proposed as a solution to shortcomings in existing scientific publishing systems.

Abstract

Scientists write research articles, process ethics reviews, evaluate proposals and research, and seek funding. Several strategies have been proposed to optimize these operations and to decentralize access to research resources and opportunities. For instance, we previously proposed the trinity review method, combining registered reports with financing and research ethics assessments. However, previously proposed systems have a number of shortcomings, including how to implement them, e.g., who manages them, how incentives for reviewers are paid, etc. Various solutions have been proposed to address these issues, employing methods based on blockchain technologies, called “decentralized science (DeSci)”. Decentralized approaches that exploit these developments offer potentially profound improvements to the troubled scientific ecosystem. Here, we propose a system that integrates ethics reviews, peer reviews, and funding in a decentralized manner, based on Web3 technology. This new method, named ABCDEF publishing, would enhance the speed, fairness, and transparency of scientific research and publishing.

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