How do I know if a journal is peer reviewed?
Answer
- When searching databases most of them allow you to limit your results to "peer reviewed only". You can be guaranteed that whatever article you use within the search is a peer-reviewed one.
- If you’ve already found an article that you’d like to use in a research paper, but you’re not sure if it’s peer reviewed, check details about the journal within whatever database you are using and look at the "instructions for authors" or the "submission" guidelines. These should tell you if it is peer reviewed and often give you information about the peer-review policy.
- Check the Journal's official website to see if it states that the journal is peer-reviewed.
- You could also check the physical journal if you have access to it in the library.
TIP: Not 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 not be accepted by your professor.