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'''Peer review''' is a usually anonymous process of checking scientific papers before they are accepted for publication. Ordinarily, this process will catch subtle errors in scientific work. When the stakes are high, however, it is easy to abuse the process.

'''Peer review''' in general refers to submitting scientific work to the scrutiny of other scientists, especially before making announcements to the general public.

 

In common practice, peer review is synonymous with [[anonymous peer review]], a largely secretive process whereby referees review a scientific paper in strict confidence before an editor accepts the paper for publication. Ordinarily, this process will catch subtle errors in scientific work. When the stakes are high, however, it is easy to abuse the process.

Normally, a journal editor receives an article submission and then sends it out to some readers (referees) who have some expertise regarding the article’s subject. These are usually selected from a pool of people who already published in that journal, and sometimes journals ask authors for suggestions for referees. In '''anonymous peer review''' the journal editor removes the names of reviewers from their comments before passing them to the authors.

Normally, a journal editor receives an article submission and then sends it out to some readers (referees) who have some expertise regarding the article’s subject. These are usually selected from a pool of people who already published in that journal, and sometimes journals ask authors for suggestions for referees. In '''anonymous peer review''' the journal editor removes the names of reviewers from their comments before passing them to the authors.