This article is an entry in the DAOstack sponsored OriginalWorks writing contest. I will discuss a use-case for DAOstack in the science research publishing community. @simoxenham has written an excellent series on how block chain can help to fix a lot of the issues in the way that science is reported, reviewed, and published. I will summarise some of the points he makes, add several of my own, then discuss how DAOstack might be able to offer a solution.
Current Problems with Science Reporting and Publishing
Several points made by @simoxenham in the final article in the series:
The majority of top scientific research is published in pay walled journals. This is a hindrance even for scientists at well funded universities.
The visibility of your research depends on the popularity of the journal that publishes it
There is little reward for reviewing the research of other scientists
The journals make large profits selling the journal subscriptions back to the universities disproportionate to what they add to the science community.
To these I would add that
The decisions about what gets published are made by a small group of people working for the scientific journals
There is an under-reporting of research that failed to find a statistically significant result, as researchers are under pressure to produce impressive results that will get published.
Also noted by @simoxenham is that there are already efforts underway to bring blockchain to science reporting. An example of this is Scienceroot
How DAOstack can help
Several features of DAOstack make science publishing and reporting an excellent use-case
- DAOstack provides a template
From the DAOstack White Paper:
Daostack provides the foundational tools for the creation, operation and governance of DAOs, internally and externally within a broader ecosystem
Having this framework already in place removes the need for the science community to design and code every detail of a block chain for science researchers.
- Incorruptibility
The incorruptibility of DAOs would greatly improve decisions about which research is made the most visible. Currently these decisions are made by small teams at science journals with little to no transparency.
- Reputation system
@simoxenham makes the point here that current rewards for reviewing science research are lacking, but a block chain based system could provide reviewing rewards.
The DAOstack reputation system seems perfect for offering some further rewards to reviewers, as well as ensuring that the most well-regarded reviewers have the most weight in judging a piece of research.
- Common interface across different disciplines
The Alchemy Interface would allow researchers from different areas of science to communicate with each other more easily. Different branches of science such as astronomy or genetics could create their own DAO. Each DAO would be organised in ARC.hives and would use the common Alchemy Interface. This would be a great improvement from each branch of science having their own journals this week, method of communication and means of accessing the community.
This has been a quick summary of some of the benefits that DAOstack could bring to the science community.
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