Research 101: The Health Sciences

What is Peer Review

Peer review is a quality control system for academic research. Through peer review, academic research is evaluated by experts in the field, ensuring the validity, quality, and importance of an academic work.

Author Conducts Research and Writes A Report

Academic publication begins with research. After the study has concluded, authors write a draft of an article reporting their findings, usually for an audience of other researchers in the field.

Author Submits Article to a Journal

After identifying a high-quality journal whose scope matches their research, the author submits a manuscript to the journal's editorial team.

Editorial Review

The journal's editorial team reviews the article to ensure that it matches the scope of the journal and their target audience. The editors also do a basic quality check.

(Optional) Additional Editorial Review

Some journals may send a paper through multiple rounds of review, first with the editor-in-chief, and then by associate editors.

Peer Reviewers Selected

The journal's editorial team selects a panel of peer reviewers to evaluate the paper. There should always be at least 2 reviewers, who are experts in the research topic of the manuscript.

The Article is Peer Reviewed

The peer reviewers review the article in question. Reviewers typically evaluate an article for the validity of its arguments, the quality of its methodology, and the significance of its findings.

Reviewers Submit Feedback to Editorial Team

The reviewers send their feedback to the editorial team, with each reviewer recommending if an article should be rejected, accepted, or revised.

Editorial Team Makes Decision

Using both the reviewers feedback and their personal expertise, the editorial team decides to reject the article, accept it, or accept it with suggested revisions.

Author Makes Revisions

If an article is accepted, the editors will likely request that the author make some revisions. At this stage, the author revises their manuscripts and resubmits. This process may be repeated several times.

Publication

After being revised to the editorial team's standards, the manuscript is published in the journal.