Peer Review - Process, Perspectives and the Path Ahead

The publication process of a scientific article in a journal is a demanding and often lengthy process. Authors, reviewers and editors play a vital role in the transmission of scientific communication and therefore have to follow certain rules and shoulder some responsibilities. All editors depend substantially on the judgment and critical input of scientists who are working in a particular field to give guidance and help in choosing manuscripts that are of good quality. These "peers" or "reviewers" or "scientific referees" are not paid for this work and give their time freely for the enrichment and promotion of science. For many decades, the peer review system has come to be identified with biomedical publication and has become the hallmark of scholarly communication.(1) It is a system which is constantly evolving, as evidenced by the numerous changes being ushered in by some of the more progressive journals. In this review, some frequently asked questions on the peer review process, its strengths and fallacies are addressed.