Peer review: What is it and why do we do it?

Peer review is a quality control measure for medical research. It is a process in which professionals review each other’s work to make sure that it is accurate, relevant, and significant.

Scientific researchers aim to improve medical knowledge and find better ways to treat disease. By publishing their study findings in medical journals, they enable other scientists to share their developments, test the results, and take the investigation further.

Peer review is a central part of the publication process for medical journals. The medical community considers it to be the best way of ensuring that published research is trustworthy and that any medical treatments that it advocates are safe and effective for people.

In this article, we look at the reasons for peer review and how scientists carry them out, as well as the flaws of the process.

Reasons for peer review

Peer review helps prevent the publication of flawed medical research papers.

Flawed research includes:

• made-up findings and hoax results that do not have a proven scientific basis.
• dangerous conclusions, recommendations, and findings that could harm people.
• plagiarized work, meaning that an author has taken ideas or results from other researchers.

Peer review also has other functions. For example, it can guide decisions about grants for medical research funding.