Data Dumps

We have signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)! In line with this, we are making our data freely available for download.

Public Statement

Paperstars’ Commitment to Responsible Research Assessment

Paperstars is an independent, science-driven platform dedicated to improving the way research quality is evaluated. Our mission is to move beyond narrow, quantitative metrics such as journal Impact Factors and H-index scores, and instead promote rigorous, transparent, and constructive post-publication peer review. By centring qualitative community-driven feedback, we aim to reduce bias, encourage open data and reproducibility, and support a fairer, more inclusive research culture.

The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) is a global initiative dedicated to improving how research and researchers are assessed. It advocates for responsible, transparent, and context-sensitive evaluation practices that recognise the full range of research outputs and contributions.

Paperstars signed DORA in August 2025. Its principles align directly with our vision to promote rigour over reputation, to give visibility to diverse voices in (post-publication) peer review, and to ensure that the value of research is judged on its substance rather than the prestige of the venue in which it is published.

As part of our commitment, Paperstars will continue to:

• Provide a structured, moderated, 7-category review system for published papers, generating a transparent qualitative star rating
• Encourage open data by rewarding publicly available data within our rating rubric
• Develop tools and integrations (e.g., with Zotero) to make responsible research assessment part of researchers’ everyday workflow
• Provide free, open access to ratings and metadata to support metascience research

For more information about our approach or our DORA implementation plans, please contact: info@paperstars.org

This is the bit of DORA that applies to us:

For organizations that supply metrics
11. Be open and transparent by providing data and methods used to calculate all metrics.
12. Provide the data under a licence that allows unrestricted reuse, and provide computational access to data, where possible.
13. Be clear that inappropriate manipulation of metrics will not be tolerated; be explicit about what constitutes inappropriate manipulation and what measures will be taken to combat this.
14. Account for the variation in article types (e.g., reviews versus research articles), and in different subject areas when metrics are used, aggregated, or compared.

So, our clear answers to each of these points:

11. You can read about the weighted star-rating system here.
12. You are free to use this data as you wish!
13. We have a very strict code of conduct (which you can read here) and all ratings and reviews are moderated.
14. The type of article is clearly stated.

We will upload the latest file every Friday, but if you have any questions or concerns, please do get in touch with us at info@paperstars.org.