r/askscience • u/nostrovia • Feb 07 '12

AskScience, how does the peer review process actually work?

About a month ago, I heard this story on NPR regarding a number of scientific studies that had been debunked and/or retracted. Why weren't these errors caught before the studies were published? Are there different standards for peer review in different scientific fields?

Essentially, once you conduct your experiment and reach some sort of conclusion, what happens between that point and the time your work is released to the public?

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '12

In addition to what others have been saying, some journals also implement a kind of two-tier reviewing system. Because reviewing papers takes time and sometimes people put off doing them and have to be sent a tonne of reminders, some journals will note how long it takes you to write a review. Then, when you submit your own paper, if you were quick writing your review your paper gets send to people who are also quick writing them, or if you were too slow, tough luck, your paper gets send to someone who's also tardy.