What is peer review?

Peer review is the process by which manuscripts that are submitted to a journal are assessed and evaluated for their quality, value and credibility.

Journal editors select subject experts to review and evaluate submitted manuscripts before accepting (or rejecting) them for publication. Authors are required to respond to feedback provided by peer reviewers and manuscripts must pass the peer review process in order to be published.

A typical peer review process

Note: Prior to acceptance an article may be rejected at any stage of the submission and review process.

Responding to feedback

Reviewers usually propose one of the following:

• Acceptance of a manuscript or a proposal;
• Acceptance on condition that the author improves it in certain ways;
• Rejection, but also encouragement to revise the manuscript and resubmit it; or
• Outright rejection.

Keep in mind that the comments made by peer reviewers are not requirements, but suggestions. You need to decide which points you want to act upon. However each suggestion should be acknowledged and justification provided for their acceptance or rejection.

Why do journals conduct peer review?

Scholarly journals use the peer review to protect and maintain the quality of material they publish.

The process of review means that the articles in scholarly journals are generally of a higher quality than those published in other types of publications.

How to tell if a publication is peer reviewed?

• It will usually include a listing of editorial board members and their responsibilities for the journal.
• Information regarding the scope of a journal may indicate that it is peer reviewed.

Rocco, Tonette, Hatcher, & Creswell. (2009). The Handbook of Scholarly Writing and Publishing. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.

Peer Review in the Arts

The online recording, including a strong focus on the peer review process, for the Faculty of Arts RHD Seminar 1 "Publishing Articles in Journals" is available here. Please use your UQ username and password to log in.