File:A plurality of paper evaluation functions provides multiple lenses onto the literature - fncom-06-00079-g005.jpeg

English: A plurality of paper evaluation functions (PEFs) provides multiple lenses onto the literature. Organizations and individuals can define PEFs according to their own priorities and make the resulting paper rankings publicly available. Competing PEFs provide multiple perspectives. Moreover, the OE system becomes “ungameable” as PEFs respond to any attempts by individual scientists or groups to take advantage of weaknesses of current PEFs. With constantly evolving PEFs, each scientist and organization is motivated to aim for truth and objectivity. Red and blue pointers correspond to “excitatory” and “inhibitory” evaluative links, which could be represented by positive and negative numerical ratings. Beyond simple averaging of ratings, PEFs could employ sophisticated inference algorithms to jointly estimate the probabilities of all papers’ title claims.