What is peer review?

There is more to science than just conducting experiments. Scientists also spend a lot of time applying for money from funders, reporting their results in research journals, and presenting their work at conferences. Another important task every researcher does is checking other scientists’ work to ensure only good scientific ideas and results are published and funded.

Rowan Frame speaks to a journal editor, a scientist, and a historian of scholarly publishing to find out why this process is important and how it works. 

Jenny Koenig suggests activities for your classroom that get students thinking about processes for evaluating scientific claims, and for giving constructive feedback.