The peer-reviewing process has several key stakeholders involved. These stakeholders are the author of the initial manuscript, the journal editor, who conducts the initial and post-peer-review screening process, and the peer-reviewers, who check the article’s methodology, results, and analysis (“Peer reviewing process,” 2013). The peer review cycle is as shown in Figure 1:
The two major roles in the peer-reviewing process are the editor and the peer-reviewer. Editors are employees that work for particular scientific journals. They review many articles per day and are not expected to be professionals in the field of medicine, engineering, physics, etc. Their job is to decide if the article can be published in the journal based on a list of criteria and the feedback provided by the peer reviewers. They deal with the authors directly. Peer reviewers, on the other hand, are typically anonymous. They do not make contact with the author in any way in order to avoid bias. They are typically other researchers and scientists who have a profound understanding of the subject and are capable of providing constructive criticism.
In order to determine if my article for this week is peer-reviewed or not, I need to determine the academic trustworthiness of its source. Journals that publish articles typically state if their materials are peer-reviewed or not. Some books undergo the peer-reviewing process as well.
There are many ways of accessing peer-reviewed information for research purposes. Student libraries tend to possess an archive of peer-reviewed information. In addition, I can find peer-reviewed articles in dedicated online journals through Google Scholar, or access several databases that have articles in free use.
References
Peer reviewing process and editorial decision making at journals. (2013). Web.