获奖者由诺贝尔物理学委员会(英语:Nobel Committee for Physics)甄选。该委员会由瑞典皇家科学院所推举的五名成员组成。每年9月进行的第一轮选拔中,事先选出包括大学教授、诺贝尔物理学奖和化学奖得主等人在内的约3千人会收到一份保密的提名表。表格须于翌年1月之前送达诺贝尔委员会,专家在审议后,在被提名人中选出15人左右。委员会将最终人选报告呈交至皇家科学院,接受进一步审议。皇家科学院最后以多数表决的方式,挑选出获奖者。[14]
^Nobel Prize. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007 [2009-01-15]. (原始内容存档于2015-04-29). After Nobel’s death, the Nobel Foundation was set up to carry out the provisions of his will and to administer his funds. In his will, he had stipulated that four different institutions—three Swedish and one Norwegian—should award the prizes. From Stockholm, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences confers the prizes for physics, chemistry, and economics, the Karolinska Institute confers the prize for physiology or medicine, and the Swedish Academy confers the prize for literature. The Norwegian Nobel Committee based in Oslo confers the prize for peace. The Nobel Foundation is the legal owner and functional administrator of the funds and serves as the joint administrative body of the prize-awarding institutions, but it is not concerned with the prize deliberations or decisions, which rest exclusively with the four institutions.
^Gingras, Yves; Wallace, Matthew L. Why it has become more difficult to predict Nobel Prize winners: A bibliometric analysis of nominees and winners of the chemistry and physics prizes (1901–2007). Scientometrics. 2009, 82 (2): 401. doi:10.1007/s11192-009-0035-9.
^"The Nobel Prize for Peace"互联网档案馆的存档,存档日期2009-09-16., "Linus Pauling: Awards, Honors, and Medals", Linus Pauling and The Nature of the Chemical Bond: A Documentary History, the Valley Library, Oregon State University. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
Friedman, Robert Marc (2001). The Politics of Excellence: Behind the Nobel Prize in Science. New York & Stuttgart: VHPS (Times Books). ISBN0-7167-3103-7, ISBN978-0-7167-3103-0.