Peer review is the review of an author’s work by someone else who is considered an expert in their field. It is intended to uphold the quality and integrity of original research – be that scientific, or in other disciplines.
Most journals and grant funders will assign at least three peer-reviewers to evaluate submitted manuscripts or grant proposals. The reviews are weighed up by editors or grant funding advisory panels as part of their decision-making process.
It is worth checking the peer-review policy of journals before you submit an article. Some journals now conduct blind peer-review, where the authors are anonymised to the reviewers.
To find out more about the peer review process, take a look at this guide from the Voice of Young Science team.