What is the role of peer review in science?

• A. It guarantees absolute certainty
• B. It prevents new hypotheses from being published
• C. It ensures experiments never fail
• D. It helps evaluate the quality of data and research work

Answer: (D)

Peer review in science is a process where independent experts evaluate a study's methods, data, and conclusions to judge its quality and credibility. This helps determine whether the experimental design was appropriate, the data were analyzed correctly, and the conclusions are justified by the results. It also checks that the work is described clearly enough to allow others to reproduce or build on it, and that potential biases or limitations are acknowledged.

This process best matches the idea that science advances through careful assessment of how solid the evidence is and how well the work supports its claims. It isn’t a guarantee of absolute certainty, and it doesn’t halt the publication of new hypotheses or prevent all errors or failed experiments. Instead, it improves the reliability of research by catching major issues and promoting clarity and rigor.