十七世紀中旬，學術期刊開始出版，為了維護期刊出版品質，須建立一套審核制度來審格作品內容，以決定該作品出版與否。1752 年開始，建立一套評審(Refereeing)辦法，由一群專家進行評審，籍以掌握內容品質，但一直到二十世紀中下葉，同儕評閱才其有標準形式。
二十一世紀在科技的推波助瀾之下，對學術期刊而言，造成一種出版形式土的革命，除了傳統紙本型式之外，電子出版品陸續出現，電子出版品的快速成長，使得傳統編輯制度產生變化，而其中的同儕評閱制度也面臨改變。為了改善傳統同儕評閱制度的缺點及符合電子出版的潮流，哈登(Steven Harnad)在1993 年在國際電子期刊會議上發表其看法，他強調電子化的評閱制度，不僅可解決傳統同儕評閱制度之缺失，還可建立一公平、客觀，具效率、具互動式的出版模式。
雖然電子化同儕評閱制度雖可解決傳統同儕評閱制度的缺失，但在電子化同儕評閱環境中，目前仍有些問題有待進一步解決，其問題包括了妒:設計全新電子化同儕評閱系統時，其色含的系統功能項目為何?在網路環境中，如何進行保護與維護?這些問題必須有賴進一步解決， 並加以規範及管理，如此才能真正建立一套完整的電子化同儕評閱制度，以發揮其功效。故本文由目前傳統同儕評閱制度無構，進而描述傳統與電子化同儕評閱制度，其過程及特色之差異，並一電子化同儕評閱管理系統一-ESPERE 系統作為了解。 To maintain quality of academic journals, started to publishing in the middle of the seventeenth century, a system of examining content of papers was necessary, and the peer reviewing concept and system were gradually establishing until the late period of twentieth century. The development of science and technology in the twenty-first century had made a revolution of publishing form academic journals. Except of the conventional paper journals, electronic journals have been swiftly emerged and caused the changes of conventional editorial and peer reviewing systems
The paper of ""implementing Peer Review on the InterNet, ""written by Steven Harnad and publ ished on the internationals conference on Referred Electronic Journal in 1993, has explored the importance of electronic peer reviewing system. The development of electronic peer reviewing system not only can sort the drawbacks of conventional system out, but also can promote and establish an efficient, just ice, and objective interactive publ ishing form.
There are some concepts and problems have to be clarified for peer reviewing system, although electronic systems owned lots of advantages. For example, what functions have to be involved in designing a new electronic peer reviewing system?How to effecti vely protect and manage in the Internet environments? Such these problems have to be solved and managed, and the electronic peer
reviewing systems as Steven Harnad said could be establ ished. Therefore, in this paper, the current conventional peer reviewing system is stated and the similarities and dissimilarities between conventional and electronic peer reviewing systems are discussed. As example by ESPERE was also proposed to demonstrate the current situation of the electronic peer reviewing system.
