The Unjournal

What We Do

The Unjournal commissions rigorous, public peer evaluation of quantitative research — especially in economics, policy, and social science — that informs global priorities and the most effective interventions for improving lives.

We don't "publish" papers in the traditional sense. Instead, we provide journal-independent evaluation: expert assessments with quantitative ratings and detailed feedback, all made publicly available. Authors keep full control of their work and can submit it anywhere else.

Why It Matters

Traditional academic publishing is slow, expensive, and often misaligned with real-world impact. Papers sit behind paywalls. Peer review is unpaid, opaque, and produces binary accept/reject decisions. Researchers spend months reformatting papers for different journals.

We focus on research relevant to pressing global challenges: poverty alleviation, health interventions, animal welfare, existential risk reduction, and evidence-based policy. Our evaluations help funders, policymakers, and other researchers identify the most credible and impactful work.

For Researchers & Authors

Submit your research for expert evaluation. There is no formatting requirement — we evaluate working papers, preprints, dynamic documents, and hosted projects, not just traditional PDFs.

• Receive detailed, constructive feedback from experts in your field
• Get quantitative ratings on overall quality, methods, and real-world relevance
• Non-exclusive: submitting to The Unjournal doesn't prevent you from publishing elsewhere
• Author responses are published alongside evaluations, creating a transparent scholarly dialogue

Submit your research or learn more about what we look for.

For Evaluators

We pay evaluators for their expertise. If you have a PhD or equivalent experience in economics, psychology, public policy, or related quantitative fields, consider joining our evaluator pool.

• Compensation for each evaluation ($300+ depending on scope)
• Your evaluation is published and citable — real credit for review work
• Prizes for exceptional evaluations ($6,500 in evaluator prizes for 2024–25)
• Option for signed or anonymous reviews

Learn more about becoming an evaluator.

Browse Our Evaluations

All of our evaluations are publicly available. Explore the research we've assessed, read evaluator feedback, and see our quantitative ratings.

• Evaluation pages on PubPub — full evaluation reports with author responses
• Interactive dashboard — explore ratings, visualize data across all evaluations
• Documentation & policies — how we work, what we prioritize, our guidelines