Peer review & certification
Three independent reviewers. One fixed rubric.
Every paper is scored by at least three members against the same five criteria, on the same scale - not a free-form opinion. That keeps reviews comparable, makes disagreement specific, and gives the certificate an objective basis rather than a gut call.
How review works
Submit
A member submits a paper - plain English, citing actual research - with a required disclosure of how any AI tools were used.
Match
The paper is matched to reviewers by subject-interest tag, so it reaches people who know the subfield.
Score
At least three reviewers score it against the rubric, with written comments per criterion. If they substantially disagree, a fourth breaks the tie.
Circulate privately
The paper and its reviews stay visible only within the member circle during this process - not public, not indexed by search engines.
Outcome
Once three scores are in, the averaged total sets the certificate tier - one of three outcomes, below.
Publish
The author takes the certified paper anywhere - SSRN, their own site, a journal, or LinkedIn. The certificate travels with it.
The rubric
Five criteria, each scored 0 to 4, for a total out of 20. Every reviewer scores the same criteria on the same scale, and leaves short written comments on each.
Certificate outcomes
Tiered rather than pass or fail - a paper that scored well on some criteria but not others is still useful feedback for the author.
Certified - peer reviewed
Cleared review from three reviewers.
Certified with revisions noted
Cleared review; reviewer notes travel with the certificate.
Not certified - reviews available
Did not clear review; the reviews remain available to the author on request.
The certificate
A cleared paper receives a distinct, portable mark the author can screenshot or embed when they publish the paper elsewhere. It certifies the work - it doesn’t hold it hostage. Publish it anywhere: SSRN, your own site, your paper.
Integrity & AI use
Fraud prevention sits upstream, at the membership gate - not downstream in review. Members are vetted before entry and carry reputational skin in the game as named professionals in a small, invite-only network. Each member is accountable for what they post, and peer review is the check.
Our AI-use policy follows COPE, the standard most journals already use, so it needs no invention:
- AI tools cannot be listed as an author. Human members are solely accountable for all content.
- AI use is permitted in producing a paper, as long as the underlying idea is original to the author.
- Any AI use must be explicitly disclosed - which tool, and how it was used. That disclosure is itself scored.
Request an invite
Certification is for members. Membership is by invitation and considered application.
Invite-only · considered · reviewed