How to Know if Something Is Peer Reviewed

How to recognize peer-reviewed (refereed) journals

In many cases professors will crave that students employ articles from "peer-reviewed" journals. Sometimes the phrases "refereed journals" or "scholarly journals" are used to describe the same type of journals. But what are peer-reviewed (or refereed or scholarly) journal articles, and why practice faculty require their utilise?

3 categories of data resources:

• Newspapers and magazines containing news - Articles are written by reporters who may or may not be experts in the field of the article. Consequently, articles may incorporate incorrect information.
• Journals containing manufactures written by academics and/or professionals — Although the articles are written by "experts," any particular "expert" may have some ideas that are really "out in that location!"
• Peer-reviewed (refereed or scholarly) journals - Manufactures are written by experts and are reviewed by several other experts in the field before the article is published in the journal in order to ensure the article'due south quality. (The commodity is more probable to be scientifically valid, reach reasonable conclusions, etc.) In about cases the reviewers do non know who the author of the article is, and then that the article succeeds or fails on its own merit, non the reputation of the expert.

Helpful hint!

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

How do you determine whether an article qualifies as being a peer-reviewed journal article?

Showtime, you need to be able to place which journals are peer-reviewed. At that place are more often than not four methods for doing this

1. Limiting a database search to peer-reviewed journals only.
   Some databases permit you to limit searches for articles to peer reviewed journals simply. For example, Academic Search Consummate has this feature on the initial search screen - click on the pertinent box to limit the search. In some databases you may accept to go to an "advanced" or "expert" search screen to practice this. Call back, many databases practice not allow yous to limit your search in this style.
2. Checking in the database Ulrichsweb.com to make up one's mind if the journal is indicated equally 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 tin can be done by searching the database Ulrichsweb.com. Go to the alphabetical listing of databases and click on the "U". Select Ulrichsweb.com. It helps to type in the exact title of the source periodical including any initial A, AN, or THE in the title. If you don't observe the periodical you are interested in, you lot may desire to utilize Method three below. If your journal title IS displayed, check to run across if the journal is indicated every bit existence refereed by having the symbol adjacent to the title.
3. Examining the publication to come across if it is peer-reviewed.
   If by using the outset two methods you were unable to place if a journal (and an commodity therein) is peer-reviewed, y'all may then need to examine the journal physically or look at additional pages of the journal online to decide if information technology is peer-reviewed. This method is non always successful with resources available only online. The following steps are suggested:
   1. Locate the journal in the Library or online, then identify the near electric current entire year's issues.
   2. Locate the masthead of the publication. This oftentimes consists of a box towards either the forepart or the finish of the periodical, and contains publication information such as the editors of the journal, the publisher, the identify of publication, the subscription cost and like information.
   3. Does the journal say that it is peer-reviewed? If then, you're washed! If not, move on to step d.
   4. Cheque in and around the masthead to locate the method for submitting articles to the publication.  If y'all notice information similar to "to submit manufactures, send three copies…", the journal is probably peer-reviewed. In this instance, you are inferring that the publication is then going to send the multiple copies of the article to the journal'due south reviewers. This may not ever be the instance, so relying upon this criterion alone may prove inaccurate.
   5. If you exercise not see this type of argument in the commencement upshot of the journal that yous expect at, examine the remaining journals to run into if this information is included. Sometimes publications will include this information in only a single result a year.
   6. Is it scholarly, using technical terminology? Does the article format estimate the post-obit - abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, and references? Are the articles written by scholarly researchers in the field that the periodical pertains to? Is ad non-existent, or kept to a minimum? Are at that place references listed in footnotes or bibliographies? If you answered yes to all these questions , the journal may very well be peer-reviewed. This determination would be strengthened by having met the previous criterion 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 internet, and check to run into if information technology states that the periodical is peer-reviewed. Be careful to employ the official site (often located at the journal publisher'southward web site), and, even then, information could potentially be "inaccurate."

Helpful hint!

If yous accept used the previous iv methods in trying to make up one's mind if an article is from a peer-reviewed periodical 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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