Design and Implementation of a Blockchain-Based Open Peer Review System Using Hyperledger Fabric

Abstract

In academia, it is essential to verify the integrity and completeness of knowledge, for which an open peer review process is now being conducted by experts in the field. Recently, various open peer review systems have been designed to realize effective open peer review. However, (1) their design principles are not consistent; (2) use cases are rather static and limited; and (3) their implementations have been rarely introduced. To address these issues and realize practical deployment of open peer review systems, in this paper, we present a template for creating a configurable open peer review system. In particular, using the proposed template, an open peer review system operating on Hyperledger Fabric, which allows flexible and dynamic application of various open peer review policies, can be easily instantiated. In addition, by introducing a broker module, all pieces of information in the review process could effectively be handled in both the existing review system currently in operation and the created blockchain-based open peer review system, allowing a gradual transition to the new system. Since the proposed template is embodied based on full implementation and disclosed to the public in the form of an open source, we believe that this work can contribute substantially to the popularization of blockchain-based open peer review systems.