What is BitViews?
BitViews is a project aimed at improving the whole mechanism for accessing peer-reviewed research,
fulfilling at last the promise of Open Access for all.
BitViews is founded on three original concepts:
- An open-source blockchain application that validates,
aggregates, and disseminates worldwide data on the online usage of peer-reviewed author's accepted manuscripts (AMs).
- Changed incentives: the availability of clean online usage
data (location, volume, and timing of views and downloads on a world-wide scale) provides the raw material for assessing the
non-citation impact of peer-reviewed research. This, in turn, provides
a personal incentive for researchers to deposit their AMs on Open-Access repositories. Why? Because, by
definition, open access AMs can be accessed by everybody at no cost, whereas published articles restrict access to the privileged few
who can overcome expensive paywalls.
- A revolutionary new funding mechanism for libraries,
called conditional crowdfunding, whereby the project is activated only if there is sufficient support and
individual libraries' contributions fall with the total volume of contributions.
