ABSTRACT
Difficult to master and often inaccessible outside the exchange between authors and journals, peer review poses many challenges to good science. Still, research article or grant proposal acceptance for publication or funding frequently requires favorable manuscript review, and authors often modify their papers or proposals significantly in response to reviewer comments and recommendations. Peer review also promises to vet scientific research and ensure that the highest-quality research is shared in the field. In this chapter, we investigate peer-review practices, the norms of this genre of academic writing, and the expertise required for peer review, which includes more than just disciplinary, scientific, methodological, and technical knowledge and experience. We conclude by discussing current trends that may be changing the role of peer review in scientific publishing, particularly in light of peer review as a negotiated, knowledge-making and -sharing activity centered around reading and writing.
