How to Find Out if an Article Is Peer Reviewed

How to recognize peer-reviewed (refereed) journals

In many cases professors will crave that students utilize articles from "peer-reviewed" journals. Sometimes the phrases "refereed journals" or "scholarly journals" are used to draw the same type of journals. Merely what are peer-reviewed (or refereed or scholarly) journal articles, and why do faculty crave their use?

Three categories of information resource:

• Newspapers and magazines containing news - Articles are written by reporters who may or may not exist experts in the field of the commodity. Consequently, articles may contain wrong data.
• Journals containing articles written by academics and/or professionals — Although the articles are written by "experts," any particular "good" may have some ideas that are actually "out there!"
• Peer-reviewed (refereed or scholarly) journals - Articles are written past experts and are reviewed by several other experts in the field earlier the article is published in the journal in order to ensure the commodity'south quality. (The article is more than probable to be scientifically valid, achieve reasonable conclusions, etc.) In most cases the reviewers do non know who the author of the article is, then that the article succeeds or fails on its own merit, not the reputation of the skilful.

Helpful hint!

Not all information in a peer-reviewed journal is actually refereed, or reviewed. For example, editorials, messages to the editor, book reviews, and other types of information don't count as articles, and may not be accustomed by your professor.

How practice you decide whether an article qualifies as beingness a peer-reviewed journal article?

First, y'all need to be able to identify which journals are peer-reviewed. There are generally four methods for doing this

1. Limiting a database search to peer-reviewed journals only.
   Some databases allow you lot to limit searches for articles to peer reviewed journals only. For example, Academic Search Complete has this characteristic on the initial search screen - click on the pertinent box to limit the search. In some databases you may have to go to an "advanced" or "adept" search screen to do this. Remember, many databases practice not permit you to limit your search in this style.
2. Checking in the database Ulrichsweb.com to decide if the journal is indicated as being peer-reviewed.
   If y'all cannot limit your initial search to peer-reviewed journals, you will need to check to see if the source of an article is a peer-reviewed journal. This can exist done by searching the database Ulrichsweb.com. Go to the alphabetical list of databases and click on the "U". Select Ulrichsweb.com. It helps to type in the exact championship of the source journal including whatever initial A, AN, or THE in the title. If you don't find the journal you are interested in, you may desire to apply Method three below. If your journal championship IS displayed, bank check to see if the journal is indicated as beingness refereed by having the symbol next to the title.
3. Examining the publication to see if it is peer-reviewed.
   If by using the starting time two methods you were unable to identify if a journal (and an commodity therein) is peer-reviewed, y'all may then demand to examine the journal physically or look at additional pages of the journal online to determine if it is peer-reviewed. This method is not e'er successful with resources bachelor only online. The following steps are suggested:
   1. Locate the periodical in the Library or online, then identify the virtually electric current entire year's problems.
   2. Locate the masthead of the publication. This often consists of a box towards either the front or the terminate of the periodical, and contains publication information such as the editors of the periodical, the publisher, the identify of publication, the subscription toll and similar data.
   3. Does the periodical say that it is peer-reviewed? If so, you're done! If not, motion on to pace d.
   4. Check in and effectually the masthead to locate the method for submitting articles to the publication.  If yous find data similar to "to submit articles, transport three copies…", the periodical is probably peer-reviewed. In this case, you are inferring that the publication is then going to send the multiple copies of the article to the periodical's reviewers. This may not always be the instance, so relying upon this criterion lone may prove inaccurate.
   5. If you practise not see this type of argument in the start issue of the journal that you expect at, examine the remaining journals to see if this data is included. Sometimes publications volition include this information in just a single issue a year.
   6. Is it scholarly, using technical terminology? Does the article format approximate the following - abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, and references? Are the articles written by scholarly researchers in the field that the periodical pertains to? Is advertising non-existent, or kept to a minimum? Are there references listed in footnotes or bibliographies? If you answered yep to all these questions , the journal may very well be peer-reviewed. This determination would exist strengthened by having met the previous benchmark of a multiple-copies submission requirement. If you answered these questions no, the journal is probably not peer-reviewed.
4. Find the official web site on the net, and check to see if it states that the journal is peer-reviewed. Be conscientious to use the official site (often located at the journal publisher's spider web site), and, even then, information could potentially be "inaccurate."

Helpful hint!

If you have used the previous four methods in trying to determine if an article is from a peer-reviewed journal and are still unsure, speak to your instructor.

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Source: https://www.angelo.edu/library/handouts/peerrev.php

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