Peer review is the process by which scholarly articles and the research they contain are evaluated for accuracy and relevance by qualified experts. The scientific community employs peer review as a way to evaluate whether articles should be published in journals. A similar system is used to determine whether applications for research grants should be approved.
The strength of the peer review process lies in the experts, sometimes employed as journal editors, who evaluate the submitters' work. Expert evaluation encourages authors to meet commonly accepted standards of quality in their research and the conclusions they draw from it. The most effective evaluators are often those who are actively conducting research in the same field. However, to ensure neutrality, the identity of an article's author is often concealed during the peer review process. Some journals, such as the prestigious Nature, view peer review as a technique for improving articles and the journal as a whole. Taken directly from: LaPensee, T. K. (2009). Science Philosophy and Practice: Science Communications and Peer Review. In K. L. Lerner & B. W. Lerner (Eds.), In Context Series. Scientific Thought: In Context (Vol. 2, pp. 977-981).
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