SHP Textbook Reserve

What is a peer-reviewed article?

Peer-reviewed (also known as refereed or scholarly) journal 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 insure the article’s quality (the article is more likely to be scientifically valid, reach reasonable conclusions, etc.)

Most journals have a website that includes information about whether it is peer-reviewed. 

Find the journal's website through a Google search and then look for a link with information about the journal or how to submit articles.  The link may say something similar to the following:

• "About this journal"
• "Author Information"
• "Instructions & Guidelines"
• "Instructions for authors"
• "How to submit"
• "Submission guidelines"

Once you find the page, you may want to use the control-F function (hold down the control key on your keyboard and tap the "F" key) to quickly search the page for the word "peer" or "referee".

Please note that even if a journal is peer-reviewed, not all the articles in that journal may participate in the peer-review process.  Editorials, letters, and invited papers are usually not peer-reviewed even if they appear in a peer-reviewed journal.

Some of our databases and search engines will allow you to limit results to peer-reviewed publications.

Use the Search the Library tool to find articles and limit results to peer-reviewed journals. To limit, search for a topic or title and use the filter to the left of the search results list.  

In CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and other databases available through EBSCO, click on the "Show More" link in the left-hand column.  A new window with additional filters will open.  Put a checkmark in the box that says "Peer Reviewed".