Academic Discourse

ACADEMIC DISCOURSE

Discourse Communities

Peer Review

Academic and professional communities are especially concerned with these "norms" when one of their members want to publish a book or an article. Before accepting an article for publication, an academic or professional journal will ask other specialists to read the proposed article to make sure the author knows what he or she is talking about.

Communities establish norms to which they expect their members to adhere. That is not meant to be pushy or repressive. It is designed to make communication as nearly transparent and universally interpretable as possible.
Why? Because people often act on the basis of information provided by experts. Certainly, every once in awhile, a scholar is proven wrong when new information is discovered. Still, each time we publish, both the author and the academic/professional community as a whole and as represented by the journal or publishing company does its very best to ensure that the information is carefully, responsibly developed.
Scholars submit their work for peer review, asking responsible experts in their fields to retrace their thinking, checking methods, assumptions, and conclusions. This process of verifying information and assuring a publication adheres to community standards is known as peer review. When your professors ask that your papers and speeches cite sources and explain methodology, they are serving the function of peer reviewers. Before publication of an article, editors (and the community at large) want to make sure
Information is transparent and reproducible.
The article cites its information according to community standards
The author uses acceptable methodology or logic to present the information or argument.
The author has credentials (the right degrees or experience) to write on a given subject, so that the audience can trust materials found within that discourse community.

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