The Development of the Research Journal and the Prehistory of Peer Review in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

Citation

Gorokhovsky, Elia Peter (2022) The Development of the Research Journal and the Prehistory of Peer Review in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Other, California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/jqdz-ca13. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:06012022-160936425

Abstract

[Introduction] Modern science descends primarily from the ancient Greeks, when the body of scientific knowledge was small enough that they were able to favor the oral method of passing on knowledge. As the need for international scientific communication expanded, alternate methods of communicating science arose. The development of European public postal networks starting in the fifteenth century allowed communication by letter between scientists. Long-distance correspondence networks allowed researchers to share short-form information or solicit feedback. However, letters were generally problematic as means to disseminate the results of research. Although letters provided an effective way to transmit information, they did not allow channels for a scientist’s work to be broadly and easily reviewed by his peers. Moreover, they were expensive to send and could not reach a wide audience.

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