The Unjournal — Open Evaluation of Impactful Research

Making rigorous research more impactful, and impactful research more rigorous.

The Unjournal organizes expert evaluation of quantitative research bearing on global priorities — in economics, policy, social science, and related fields. We publish open, citable evaluations and numerical ratings. We work outside the traditional journal submission process, reducing delays and conflicts of interest.

We are not a journal — we don’t “accept” or “reject” papers. We evaluate research that already exists or is in progress, and publish those evaluations openly.

100+ evaluations published

55+ papers evaluated

200+ evaluator pool members

60+ team members across management, advisory board, and field specialists

ISSN 3071-2173 · Published on PubPub with DOIs · DOI prefix 10.21428/d28e8e57

How It Works

We identify research

Our field specialists and management committee identify high-impact quantitative research in our priority areas. Authors can also submit or recommend their own work.

We commission evaluations

We invite 2–3 expert evaluators per paper, who provide structured written assessments and numerical ratings with confidence intervals across 7 criteria.

We publish openly

Evaluations are published on PubPub (unjournal.pubpub.org) with DOIs, alongside the original research. Authors receive feedback and can respond publicly.

For Researchers

Submit or Recommend Research

The Unjournal offers a fast, low-friction alternative to the traditional submission process.

Free to submit — no fees, no formatting requirements
Receive substantive expert feedback to strengthen your work
Evaluations are citable published outputs with DOIs
No journal rejection — evaluation is constructive, not gatekeeping
Evaluators rated against authors’ responses for accountability
Cash prizes for top-evaluated work (2024–25 program active)

Ready to engage?

Read our full author information or go directly to the submission form.

For Researchers & Authors → Submit your research →

For Evaluators

Become an Evaluator

We compensate evaluators for their time and expertise. Your evaluation is not invisible service — it is a published, citable scholarly output.

We pay $250–$400 per evaluation (plus incentive bonuses)
Work is flexible and fully remote
Your evaluation receives a DOI and is published under your name (or anonymously — your choice)
Join 200+ researchers who have already signed up
Annual prizes for exceptional evaluations ($6,500 awarded in 2024–25)

Join our evaluator pool

Complete a short form to be added to our database. We contact you when research matches your expertise.

For Evaluators → Sign up to evaluate →

Our Evaluations

We have published evaluations of research across global health, development economics, animal welfare, catastrophic risk, and more. All evaluations are open-access with DOIs, hosted on PubPub as part of The Unjournal (ISSN 3071-2173).

Research priority areas:

Browse evaluations on PubPub → Interactive dashboard →

About our evaluation process →

Get Involved

Whether you are a researcher, evaluator, or funder — there are meaningful ways to contribute to rigorous, open science.

Evaluate Research Submit Research Get in Touch