Skip to content
ARIADNEARIADNEARIADNE Docs

Get the Peer-reviewed seal

Publishing on ARIADNE is free and immediate; the Peer-reviewed seal tells reviewed work apart. The ARIADNE indexer (the service that reads the blockchain and builds what the website shows; see the glossary) computes it from the blockchain, the review texts on IPFS, ORCID and OpenAlex (an open index of scholarly works), so anyone can compute it again, and each result names the version of the rules it used (rule 1 today). This page is the practical side, for authors and for reviewers. Why the rules are what they are is explained in the Peer-reviewed seal.

Moving an article to closed version (“final” on the blockchain) only stops new versions: it is not a seal.

When an article holds the seal

Section titled “When an article holds the seal”

An article holds the seal while at least two reviews that count recommend it (accept or minor revision) and they outnumber the reviews that count asking for major revision or rejection.

What the article shows When
Peer-reviewed at least 2 favourable reviews that count, more than the unfavourable ones
Changes requested at least 2 unfavourable reviews that count, as many as the favourable ones or more
In peer review some reviews count, but neither of the above holds
Not peer-reviewed yet no review counts yet
Peer-reviewed, suspended it had the seal, and the article is now disputed

Examples, counting only reviews that count: 2 favourable and 1 unfavourable is Peer-reviewed; 2 and 2 is Changes requested; 3 and 2 is Peer-reviewed again; 1 favourable alone is In peer review.

The seal is alive: later reviews can take it away, it is suspended while the article is disputed and gone if it is retracted. It names the version the reviews that count were written on, and says so when a later version has not been reviewed.

When a review counts

Section titled “When a review counts”

The indexer checks each review against these rules, in this order. The first rule that fails is the reason the article page shows.

  1. Not by an author. Its author is not an author of the article (the submitter or a confirmed co-author).
  2. Expertise. The reviewer has reputation 10 or more in the article’s primary or secondary field, or a verified ORCID iD with at least 3 works in the article’s area on OpenAlex (an area is one of the six large groups of fields). A verified ORCID iD is not required when the reputation is there.
  3. No conflict of interest with any author of the article:
    • the same verified ORCID iD;
    • an article on ARIADNE written together, published within 3 years of the review (before or after it);
    • works together on OpenAlex, from 3 years before the pair’s first review to 3 years after its last (both ORCID iDs verified);
    • the same current employer on their public ORCID records.
  4. Content. Its text was read from IPFS, matches its CID, and has at least 200 words (words as a reader sees them; Markdown markup is not counted).
  5. Reciprocity, for favourable reviews. It does not count when an author of the article gave the reviewer a favourable review, on an article the reviewer wrote, in the 2 years before.

The seal is computed again whenever anything it depends on changes, with the data of that moment. So a review can start counting later (for example when its author reaches 10 reputation in the field, or their ORCID iD is verified) or stop counting (for example when its author and an author of the article publish an article together within 3 years of the review).

As an author: how to get it

Section titled “As an author: how to get it”
  1. Set the article under review. On the article page, Change status, then Set under review. Reviews are accepted in preprint too, but the status tells readers you invite them. See new versions, amendments and retraction.
  2. Ask for reviews. Share the article’s link (Copy link on the article page) with people who know its field and have no conflict with you or your co-authors.
  3. Pick reviewers whose review can count. They need reputation 10 in one of the article’s two fields, or a verified ORCID iD with 3 works in its area. Avoid people who wrote with you or a co-author in the last 3 years, colleagues at the same employer, and people whose work you or a co-author reviewed favourably in the last 2 years: their review (in the last case, their favourable review) would not count.
  4. Answer the reviews. Use Reply under a review (see review an article). While the article is a preprint or under review you can publish a new version that addresses them.
  5. Watch the Peer review panel on the article page: it lists every review with whether it counts.
  6. Close the version only when you are done. Closing is not needed for the seal; it only stops new versions.

You cannot review your own article, and a declared co-author who reviews it can never confirm. The seal is computed by the indexer, so it appears shortly after the review that completes it.

As a reviewer: write a review that counts

Section titled “As a reviewer: write a review that counts”
  1. Check your expertise. Your profile shows Reputation by field; you need 10 in the article’s primary or secondary field. Otherwise, link your ORCID iD: once it is verified, 3 works in the article’s area on OpenAlex are enough.
  2. Check for conflicts. Do not review if you share a current employer with an author, wrote an article with one of them on ARIADNE within 3 years, or have works together on OpenAlex in that window. Such a review is still published; it just does not count.
  3. Write at least 200 words: what the article claims, whether the methods and data support it, what is missing.
  4. Mind reciprocity. A favourable review does not count if an author of the article gave you a favourable review in the 2 years before.
  5. Review once, carefully. You can review an article only once and cannot edit the review. If the article changes in a new version, comment.

Your profile shows Reviews that count: how many of your reviews count toward an article’s seal.

Read the Peer review panel

Section titled “Read the Peer review panel”

Every article page has a Peer review section below the list of versions. A seal badge also appears next to the status at the top of the page and links to it; lists show the badge too, except “Not peer-reviewed yet”.

The panel shows, from top to bottom:

  • The badge, one of the five labels in the table above.
  • The counts, for example “2 favourable and 1 unfavourable among the 3 reviews that count.”, or “No review counts yet.”, or “No review yet.”
  • “Sealed since” and a date, when the article holds the seal; otherwise “The seal needs 2 favourable reviews that count, more than the unfavourable.” A retracted article shows “Retracted: a retracted article holds no seal.”
  • The version: “The reviews that count were written on version 2, the current one.”, or, as a warning, “The reviews that count were written on version 2; version 3 has not been reviewed yet.”
  • One line per review: its number (a link to the review), its author, its recommendation, then “counts” (with “expertise from reputation” or “expertise from works on OpenAlex”) or “does not count:” and the reason, or “not judged yet”.
  • How the seal works, a folded summary of the rules.

The reasons, and what they mean for you:

“does not count: …” What to do
written by an author of the article nothing: authors’ reviews never count
the reviewer has neither 10 reputation in the article’s fields nor a verified ORCID iD with 3 works in its area on OpenAlex the reviewer earns reputation in one of the two fields, or links and verifies an ORCID iD; the review can count once one holds
the reviewer and an author have the same ORCID iD nothing
the reviewer and an author wrote article #N together (year), less than 3 years from the review nothing: it is a conflict of interest
the reviewer and an author have works together on OpenAlex within 3 years of the review nothing: it is a conflict of interest
the reviewer and an author work at the same institution, as their ORCID records say nothing: it is a conflict of interest
its text has not been read from IPFS yet wait; if it lasts, check that the review is still pinned
shorter than 200 words (N) a review cannot be edited: this one will not count
an author gave the reviewer a favourable review (article #N) less than 2 years before nothing: it is a returned favour

Find sealed articles

Section titled “Find sealed articles”