What is Peer-Reviewed? Libraries subscribe to various types of periodicals, such as scholarly (some of which may be peer-reviewed, blind peer-reviewed, editorial review) popular, or trade publications. Choosing which to use depends on your topic, the type of writing you are doing, your assignment, and the sources your professor wants you to use. Some library databases offer the option to limit to "Peer Reviewed". If you're not sure if a journal is considered peer-reviewed, check Ulrich's by looking up the title of the journal.
Use Start Your Research on the library homepage or the Library Databases to help you focus on peer reviewed literature. The video below shows how to apply the filter for peer review to search results in the library databases.
What is a peer-reviewed journal? A scholarly or academic journal is peer-reviewed when manuscripts are sent to experts, sometimes anonymously (blind peer-reviewed), in the related field. They make recommendations to editor for publication, rejection or revision. These journals are generally thought to be of the highest quality.
To find out if an article is considered peer-reviewed, check the Ulrich's database by doing a search for the title of the journal. If a journal is peer-reviewed, the Ulrich's database will say it is 'Refereed' (another term for peer-reviewed). Many library research databases have a checkbox to limit the results to articles published in scholarly/academic as well as peer-reviewed journals. Keep in mind that refereed/peer-reviewed journals are a subset of scholarly journals. In other words, not all scholarly journals are refereed/peer-reviewed.
