Science and peer review
There is a lot of information on climate change science available in the media and online, but how can you ensure what you are reading is independent and not influenced by personal, social or political agendas?
The peer-review process provides a way to quality control scientific discourse. Peer-reviewed papers provide a reliable and quality-assured source of information on climate change science.
Science relies on the continued questioning and challenging of ideas. When a new hypothesis or finding is published in a scientific journal, other scientists will take it seriously because it has been through the peer-review process.
Once an article is published in a peer-reviewed journal, its ideas can be challenged or supported by other scientists with peer-reviewed articles of their own.
When a new idea is published in a paper, it can be interesting and thought- provoking. When the same idea is supported by multiple papers, then it becomes compelling.
The peer-review process
For scientific journals, the peer-review process starts with the submission of a manuscript.
The editorial staff refer the manuscript to at least 2 impartial reviewers who are qualified to judge the competence, significance and originality of the research.
The reviewers’ comments are passed to the authors of the manuscript with a covering note from the editor, indicating whether changes need to be made before the manuscript is acceptable for publication.
The final decision about whether the manuscript should be published lies with the editor.
Credible sources
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assesses the peer-reviewed literature on climate change every 5 to 6 years. Their assessment reports, which are also peer-reviewed, are a credible source of information.
The reports are subject to an intense peer-review process involving hundreds of scientific experts and government reviewers. This unprecedented level of peer and government review makes this compilation of climate change science one of the most scrutinised documents in the history of science.
CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology make a significant contribution to international climate science literature, reporting on their research activities.
They also produce a range of information on past and future climate for Australia and other regions, based on peer-reviewed science.
Universities and other academic institutions also conduct research and synthesise climate change science into clear summaries, based on credible information.
CSIRO climate information includes:
- State of the Climate
- Climate Change: Science and Solutions for Australia
- Climate Change in Australia
- Climate Change in the Pacific
- Earth Systems and Climate Change
- Cape Grim greenhouse gas data
- Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (ACCESS)
- CSIRO: Strengthening Australia's resilience to climate change
- CSIRO: Climate ready science and energy solutions for a resilient Australia
- CSIRO’s observations and measurements
You may also like to look at a number of other non-CSIRO sites, including:
- Australian Bureau of Meteorology
- Australian Academy of Science's The Science of Climate Change: Questions and Answers
- Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment information on climate change
- Tracking and reporting greenhouse gas emissions
- Geoscience Australia information on climate extremes
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes
- Climate change and the Australian coast: CoastAdapt
- UK Met office
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- World Meteorological Organization