When you think of your “peers” you may think of your classmates or people in your age group, but a peer can also be anyone who shares the same social group or who is “of equal standing” with you (Merriam-Webster.com). In other words, a peer is someone with whom you share a similar perspective or background. This does not mean that you always agree with your peers, but rather that in some way you are coming from the same place. Peers share similar experiences, such as pursuing the same field of study, sharing a hobby, or living in the same community. We can relate to our peers.

For instance, when seeking personal advice you might start by posting your question to Yahoo! Answers, rather than reading a book by a clinical psychologist. Likewise, you probably often visit sites like Pinterest for new ideas and products instead of going directly to retailer sites. These online networks are examples of peer communities where common interests are shared and information is exchanged and built upon.

Peer Interactions in Academia

As a student, you have likely been asked by your instructors to use peer-reviewed or scholarly articles for your research assignments. You might associate these terms with challenging content and advanced language that is often difficult to understand. But there is a reason that these kinds of resources are considered to be the very best for your research, namely the rigorous peer-review process that an article must go through in order to be published in a scholarly journal.

Scholarly journals are publications containing articles written by experts in a particular field of study. These articles typically consist of research studies that present new insights on a topic. In a scholarly journal on chemistry, for example, you can find experiments that present new scientific discoveries, while a literature journal might contain an article with the latest insight on the historical context of a particular poem. You can find scholarly journals in academic libraries in both print and electronic form.

The Peer Review Process:

For an article to be published in a scholarly journal it must first be reviewed by a panel of experts in the author’s field of study – in other words, the author’s fellow scholars or peers. The reviewers determine whether the material is worthy of publication based on the following criteria:

• Is the information accurate?

• Is the research valid?

• Does this information add to the current body of knowledge or literature that exists on this topic?

Watch the following video for a quick breakdown of the peer review process:

The Peer Review Process by Western Libraries, CC BY-ND 3.0

The peer-review process distinguishes the articles found in scholarly journals from those you would find in other periodicals such as magazines and newspapers. While these publications typically have a general editor that checks articles for quality and accuracy, the content in scholarly journals has been thoroughly reviewed by multiple experts in the field, ensuring the credibility of the information.

The publication process that a resource goes through can tell you a lot about the credibility of that resource. Consider, for example, the publication process of a blog. Trick question - there isn’t one! Anyone can publish to the Web without going through any kind of review process, so as a researcher you have to rely on the word of the author, along with user responses to the blog, to determine if the information is valid.

Since multiple experts in the field must have approved a peer-reviewed publication before it could be published, you can be confident that the information presented is authoritative and credible. Watch this video for a demonstration of the main elements that define a scholarly publication.

A Conversation among Scholars

Peer-reviewed materials are appropriate for research not only for the quality of the information, but because they are intended for an academic audience. You won’t find scholarly journals next to the glossy magazines at the grocery checkout line. Rather, scholars share their research in an academic setting with students, professors, and other scholars so that others may build upon their own research.

It is important to remember that the knowledge creation process is not simply a presentation, but a conversation and interaction between scholars. Even before submitting an article for peer-review, scholars share their work with each other throughout the research and writing process, from informal discussions with colleagues to professional conferences. By sharing with other researchers in the field they are contributing to the conversation of scholarship.

Scholarly conversation allows standards to be established within a discipline. Researchers need to be aware of what knowledge already exists within their field of study in order to build upon it. Without this communication, scholars would face the issue of restating what has already been said and reinventing the wheel for research that has already been done.

Remember, the authors of peer-reviewed resources are researchers just like you. An article published in a scholarly journal began as research on a topic, and culminated as a synthesis of the ideas of others in the field along with the author’s own unique insight. Furthermore, a good research article does not intend to answer every question with finality, but rather to spark more questions, exploration, and research, so that the field of knowledge can continue to grow. You, too, can participate in the conversation of scholarship through your own research.

Applying Peer Review to Your Own Scholarship

Writing your paper or submitting a project doesn't have to be the final step in your research. Knowledge is not simply discovered, but created, and constantly evolving. You can apply the principles of peer-review and scholarly conversation to make your own work stronger.

• Are you saying something new? Or just reporting facts that are already known?

• What audience are you sharing with? How might they contribute to the creation process? See what kind of feedback you receive on your work through online discussion lists and forums.

• Consider your work in the context of the broader body of literature on the topic. Did you identify any new connections? Or gaps in knowledge, indicating a need for further research?

• Your peers may be your classmates or they might be a broader audience. Is there an area that you consider yourself an expert in? Have you conducted thorough and innovative research on a topic and you want to share your results? Or perhaps you have a piece of creative work that you are proud of? Consider publishing your ideas on an open platform or submitting your work for publication.

Group blogs are a popular platform for scholars to convene and share multiple perspectives on a particular topic. By visiting these blogs you can witness firsthand (and maybe even participate in) the construction of knowledge through scholarly conversation. Visit one of the blogs below (You may want to pick according to your subject area of interest) and identify an interesting exchange between scholars that demonstrates the creation of new knowledge. Take a screenshot or copy and paste the conversation into the submission box. Then write a short paragraph explaining how this exchange demonstrates scholarly conversation.

Crooked Timber: a multidisciplinary group blog. Notice how different communities approach topics in different ways depending on their discipline.

Women of History: a blog providing biographies of interesting women.

Scientific American Blogs: a collection of blogs for science scholars.