The key stage that determines whether an article will be published is peer review. At this stage, reviewers thoroughly analyse the manuscript, assess its compliance with the journal's requirements and, where necessary, send it back for revision. Since peer review is a decisive moment in the publication process, it is important for the author to understand what types of it exist and what their differences are. This is exactly what we will discuss in today's article.
What is peer review and what is it for?
Peer review – is the process of evaluating an article before its publication in a scientific journal. At this stage, experts (that is, reviewers) determine the extent to which the manuscript meets the journal's criteria. In the course of analysing the article, they take into account a number of factors, including:
- relevance and novelty of the research – whether the work contains new data, ideas or approaches within its field
- compliance with the journal's subject matter – whether the article corresponds to the profile and scientific scope of the publication
- correctness of the methodology – whether the chosen research methods are appropriate to the tasks set, and whether they are described in sufficient detail to ensure reproducibility of the results
- soundness of the conclusions – whether they follow logically from the data obtained, and whether they contain any excessive generalisations
- quality of the literature review – whether key prior studies in the field have been taken into account, and whether the references are correctly formatted
- structure and style of presentation – whether the text is logically constructed and whether it complies with the requirements of academic style
- adherence to academic integrity – the absence of plagiarism, correct citation, and disclosure of any conflict of interest
Based on the results of this detailed analysis, reviewers determine whether the article can be accepted for publication. Should the article meet only part of the established criteria, it may be sent back for revision.
That said, the value of peer review is not limited solely to a decision on the fate of a particular article, since this process also performs a number of other important functions aimed at the development of scientific fields as a whole.
First, it ensures quality control of publications. Independent expert assessment makes it possible to identify errors in methodology, incorrect conclusions or gaps in argumentation even before the work becomes available to the scientific community.
Peer review also serves as a filter of reliability for the results presented in a piece of work. Experts in a particular field are able to assess whether the research genuinely adds something new, whether it duplicates already existing work, and whether it was carried out in accordance with established scientific standards.
Moreover, this process supports trust in the scientific journal and in the field as a whole. Journals with a rigorous peer review system enjoy greater authority among researchers, since readers can be confident that published materials have undergone independent verification rather than having been placed without proper oversight.
Finally, peer review helps to uphold academic integrity. It is precisely at this stage that cases of plagiarism, data manipulation or other breaches of scientific ethics are most often detected, thereby preventing them from entering the scientific domain.
What types of peer review exist?
As we have already established, peer review is an extremely important stage of the publication process. This is why it is important for every author to understand the particularities of how it is conducted, which depend directly on the type of peer review applied by the scientific journal. Below, we will look at the most common of them.
Single-blind peer review
Single-blind peer review is the most common in the publishing field. This model provides that the reviewer knows the names of the article's authors, their affiliation and other identifying details, whereas the authors do not know who exactly evaluated their work.
The advantage of single-blind peer review is that it gives the reviewer the opportunity to express their assessment as honestly and critically as possible, without fear of a negative reaction from the authors. However, among the drawbacks of this format, the risk of bias is usually highlighted: knowledge of the author's reputation, institutional affiliation or country of origin may influence the objectivity of the conclusions.
Double-blind peer review
This model is based on the same principle as single-blind peer review, but provides for complete anonymity on both sides: the authors do not know who is reviewing their work, and the reviewers do not have access to information about the authors.
It should be noted that double-blind peer review is considered the most objective format for evaluating scientific articles, since the assessment is based exclusively on the quality of the research, without the influence of external factors.
Triple-blind peer review
Triple-blind peer review can be regarded as an extension of the double-blind model, but it preserves the anonymity not only of the author and the reviewer, but also of the editor assigned to the manuscript.
Despite the high level of confidentiality, scientific journals do not apply this format of evaluation particularly often. The reason for this is the difficulty of ensuring complete anonymity at all levels.
Open peer review
This model operates on a diametrically opposite principle to the three previous ones. Open peer review provides for the absence of anonymity at all stages of an article's evaluation. This means that the identities of the authors and reviewers are known to one another.
It is important to emphasise that the level of disclosure of personal information may vary depending on the journal's policy – from the partial disclosure of names to the full publication of the text of the reviews and the authors' responses alongside the article itself.
Post-publication peer review
Post-publication peer review is a model whereby, after undergoing a preliminary editorial check, an article is published in open access, with its full expert review carried out only afterwards. Unlike traditional peer review, scientific evaluation does not precede publication: readers gain access to the work immediately, while reviews, expert comments and authors' responses are published alongside the article in the course of an open discussion.
This format of manuscript evaluation is used predominantly by open scientific publishing platforms rather than by traditional scientific journals. A prominent example of such a resource is F1000Research, which describes its model as formal, invited and fully open peer review conducted after publication.
According to the platform's policy, before publication an article undergoes only an editorial check (for compliance with ethical requirements, the platform's policies, formatting, and so on), after which it becomes available to readers. Only after publication does the editorial team invite independent reviewers, whose conclusions, names and recommendations ("Approved", "Approved with Reservations" or "Not Approved") are published alongside the article. In response to comments, authors may submit new versions of the manuscript, and the review history along with all previous versions of the article remain open for viewing.
Traditional journals, published by Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and other major publishers, by contrast, predominantly apply pre-publication peer review, and use elements of post-publication oversight (letters to the editor, comments, corrections or article retractions) mainly as an additional quality assurance mechanism rather than as the principal method of manuscript evaluation.
Every researcher should pay particular attention to the type of peer review applied by a journal, even before submitting an article. The level of anonymity of participants, the duration of the process, and the degree of openness of the results to the scientific community directly affect the course of the evaluation. Understanding these particularities helps the author to make an informed choice of journal, whose peer review format best matches their expectations.
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