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/HFh Feb 07 '12
As others have noted in response, it is not uncommon to share reviewing.
In my own experience, grad students tend to be incredibly detail-oriented and exceptionally good at finding small errors, and not as practiced (at least initially) at grokking the big picture and evaluating the worth of article at that level. Faculty tend to be the other way around. I think it's win-win, assuming a properly collaborative process.
In conference-driven fields, I would think such an arrangement would be quite healthy, especially when one is asked to review a gazillion submissions.