Peer Review

UCOLL 300 - Unit IV - Peer Review

We can identify the process of peer review as the biggest difference between popular and scholarly publications. Most information which appears in popular publications is written by journalists, reporters, or someone trying to promote a point of view (or sell something!). There is relatively no checking or vetting of information in a critical way.

Material considered for publication in scholarly journals, however, is subject to peer review. This means that if an astronomer wants to publish an article in the Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy, he or she must first submit it and have a group of other astronomers review the material and check it for accuracy and validity.