How Do I Know if It Is Peer Reviewed

How to recognize peer-reviewed (refereed) journals

In many cases professors volition require that students utilize manufactures from "peer-reviewed" journals. Sometimes the phrases "refereed journals" or "scholarly journals" are used to describe the aforementioned blazon of journals. But what are peer-reviewed (or refereed or scholarly) periodical manufactures, and why exercise faculty require their use?

Three categories of data resources:

• Newspapers and magazines containing news - Articles are written past reporters who may or may not be experts in the field of the article. Consequently, articles may comprise incorrect information.
• Journals containing manufactures written by academics and/or professionals — Although the articles are written by "experts," any particular "expert" may accept some ideas that are really "out in that location!"
• Peer-reviewed (refereed or scholarly) journals - Articles 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 commodity's quality. (The article is more than likely to be scientifically valid, reach reasonable conclusions, etc.) In most cases the reviewers practise not know who the writer of the article is, and then that the article succeeds or fails on its ain merit, not the reputation of the expert.

Helpful hint!

Not all data in a peer-reviewed journal is really 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 past your professor.

How do yous make up one's mind whether an article qualifies equally beingness a peer-reviewed journal article?

First, you need to be able to identify which journals are peer-reviewed. There are generally iv methods for doing this

1. Limiting a database search to peer-reviewed journals only.
   Some databases permit 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 "avant-garde" or "skillful" search screen to exercise this. Call up, many databases do non let yous to limit your search in this manner.
2. Checking in the database Ulrichsweb.com to determine if the periodical is indicated as being peer-reviewed.
   If you 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 past 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 journal including whatsoever initial A, AN, or THE in the title. If you don't find the journal you are interested in, you may want to utilize Method 3 below. If your journal title IS displayed, check to encounter if the journal is indicated as being refereed by having the symbol next to the title.
3. Examining the publication to see if it is peer-reviewed.
   If by using the first 2 methods yous were unable to identify if a journal (and an article therein) is peer-reviewed, you may and then demand to examine the journal physically or wait at additional pages of the periodical online to determine if it is peer-reviewed. This method is not ever successful with resources available only online. The following steps are suggested:
   1. Locate the periodical in the Library or online, then identify the most current entire year's issues.
   2. Locate the masthead of the publication. This often consists of a box towards either the front or the end of the journal, and contains publication information such as the editors of the journal, the publisher, the identify of publication, the subscription cost and similar data.
   3. Does the journal say that it is peer-reviewed? If so, y'all're done! If not, move on to step d.
   4. Check in and around the masthead to locate the method for submitting articles to the publication.  If you lot find information similar to "to submit articles, ship three copies…", the journal is probably peer-reviewed. In this case, you are inferring that the publication is then going to ship the multiple copies of the commodity to the journal'due south reviewers. This may non always be the case, so relying upon this criterion alone may prove inaccurate.
   5. If you do not see this type of argument in the first upshot of the journal that you look at, examine the remaining journals to see if this information is included. Sometimes publications volition include this information in only a single effect 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 journal pertains to? Is advert non-existent, or kept to a minimum? Are in that location references listed in footnotes or bibliographies? If y'all answered yes to all these questions , the periodical may very well be peer-reviewed. This conclusion would be strengthened by having met the previous criterion of a multiple-copies submission requirement. If y'all answered these questions no, the journal is probably not peer-reviewed.
4. Find the official spider web site on the internet, and bank check to see if it states that the periodical is peer-reviewed. Be conscientious to utilize the official site (ofttimes located at the journal publisher's spider web site), and, even so, information could potentially be "inaccurate."

Helpful hint!

If you have used the previous 4 methods in trying to make up one's mind if an article is from a peer-reviewed periodical and are however unsure, speak to your instructor.

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

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