Why you can't always believe what you read in scientific journals - Vox

" ... But there are problems with this traditional "pre-publication" peer-review model: it relies on the goodwill of scientists, who are increasingly pressed and may not spend the time required to properly critique a work; it's subject to the biases of a select few; it's slow; and it sometimes fails. This means that even in the highest-quality journals, mistakes, flaws, and even fraudulent work make it on the record. In the past, there was no way to publicly point out those errors, barring the rare event of a retraction. Now, the (anonymous) founders of a new website, PubPeer, are trying to change that. Since establishing the site in 2012, they've grown into a global platform for 'post-publication' peer review — a new method some say could replace the current model. PubPeer researchers can now comment on scientific articles, critiquing and discussing works anonymously, as soon as they've been published in journals — like a comments section on a news site. The space for criticism is no longer confined to just a few reviewers; anyone can log in and leave a thoughtful remark. PubPeer has already amassed more than 25,000 comments in its centralized database. It has helped uncover science fraud, and recently became the subject of a court case over the right to anonymous scientific discussion. Along the way, it's creating a successful model that could replace the hallowed — and flawed — traditional peer-review process. On the condition of anonymity, I interviewed the PubPeer founders — an early career researcher, computer scientist, and graduate student — about the revolution in peer review they're trying to shape, why science commenters tend not to troll, and why they refuse to reveal their identities ..."