Science moves most rapidly when the majority of researchers uses similar methods and can easily repeat and build upon each others' discoveries. There is a strong need for standardizing in ecological and environmental plant physiology. Traditionally information about protocols has been communicated either through conventional scientific peer-reviewed publications, which are slow and formal, or through word-of-mouth interactions and protocol sharing between specific lab-groups, which is inefficient in what is now a global field. Here we introduce PrometheusWiki , a site which seeks to build a new method of communication about methods within the research community. The goal will be to combine fast and informal wiki-based interactions with selected elements of traditional scientific publishing, to provide editorial review and a high quality resource.
Results/Conclusions
The PrometheusWiki is a new web resource, launched this month, to which researchers can upload protocols (and associated images, videos, code, etc) on given topics and post comments and commentary in a constructive and civil manner. This wiki introduces the 'gold leaf protocol' editorial process to quickly and efficiently move the field towards best practices and standardized measurements in areas where community consensus is possible and desirable. The development of these protocols will combine the best of wiki open-access editing with limited editorial oversight. The site aims to engage established professionals in the field in debate and discussion of methods, while also providing an important resource to newcomers to the field.