The Association of College and Research Libraries defines scholarly communication as "the system through which research and other scholarly writings are created, evaluation for quality, disseminated to the scholarly community and preserved for future use." Scholarly communication includes peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals and presentations at academic conferences as well as informal means such as listservs. Scholarly publishing refers to the formal publication process found in academic journals and books, although this guide focuses on journals specifically in the health sciences. 

The scholarly publication lifecycle is frequently defined as including six steps:  research, writing (authoring) peer review, publication, and discovery/dissemination of the information.

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A major distinction that separates scholarly publishing from other types of publishing is peer review. The World Association of Medical Editors defines a peer-reviewed journal as "one that regularly obtains advice on individual manuscripts from reviewers who are not part of the journal's editorial staff. Peer review is intended to improve the accuracy, clarity, and completeness of published manuscripts and to help editors decide which manuscripts to publish. Peer review does not guarantee manuscript quality and does not reliably detect scientific misconduct." Peer reviewers are usually chosen by the journal editor (although editors sometimes ask authors for suggestions, especially in niche fields) and are experts in the article's subject matter. Like article authors, peer reviewers are rarely paid for their efforts, instead considering it a service to their profession. Generally, only research or review articles receive peer review. 

Adam D. The early days of peer review: five insights from historic reports. Nature. 2024 Oct 15. doi: 10.1038/d41586-024-03287-4. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39406846.

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [Internet]. Roles and responsibilities of authors, contributors, reviewers, editors, publishers, and owners. [accessed Oct 3, 2024]. Available at https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/.

Kronick DA. A history of scientific and technical periodicals: the origins and development of the scientific and technical press, 1665-1790. 2nd ed. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1976.

Kronick DA. Medical "publishing societies" in eighteenth-century Britain. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1994 Jul;82(3):277-82. PMID: 7920337; PMCID: PMC225925.