What is a peer reviewed article

Scholarly journals are journals which are well respected for the information and research they provide on a particular subject. They are written by experts in a particular field or discipline and their purpose is to advance the ongoing body of work within their discipline. These articles might present original research data and findings, or take a position on a key question within the field. They can be difficult to read, because their intended audience is other experts and academics, but they are the capstone when it comes to authoritative information.

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Peer review (or referee) process
How to tell if a journal is peer-reviewed
What is meant by peer
How do you check if an article is peer
What is the difference between a peer
What are the five parts of a peer

Scholarly journals are oftentimes peer reviewed or refereed. A peer-reviewed or refereed article has gone through a process where other scholars in the author’s field or discipline critically assess a draft of the article. The actual evaluations are similar to editing notes, where the author receives detailed and constructive feedback from the peer experts. However, these reviews are not made available publicly. For an example peer review of a fictitious article, see the Sample Peer-Review of a Fictitious Manuscript link below.

Please keep in mind that not all scholarly journals go through the peer-review process. However, it is safe to assume that a peer-reviewed journal is also scholarly. In short, “scholarly” means the article was written by an expert for an audience of other experts, researchers or students. “Peer-reviewed” takes it one step further and means the article was reviewed and critiqued by the author’s peers who are experts in the same subject area. The vast majority of scholarly articles are peer reviewed.

However, because there are many different types of peer-review, be sure to evaluate the resource itself to determine if it is suitable for your research needs. For example, law reviews may indicate that they are peer-reviewed, but their "peers" are other students. Please see the Law Reviews FAQ below for more explanation.

If you need help determining whether a scholarly journal is peer reviewed or refereed we recommend using the Ulrichsweb database. Ulrichsweb is the authoritative source of bibliographic and publisher information on more than 300,000 periodicals of all types, including academic and scholarly journals. Find out more about how to use and access Ulrichsweb through NU Library by watching the Ulrichsweb Quick Tutorial Video (link below).

For additional instruction on scholarly vs. peer reviewed journals, please see the Library's Scholarly vs. Peer-Reviewed Journals Quick Tutorial Video (link below).

For information about how to limit your database searches to scholarly/peer-journals, see the following FAQ:

go through a process in which experts in the field (the author's peers) verify that the information and research methods are up to standards. Peer reviewed articles are usually research articles or literature reviews and have certain characteristics in common. This page has an overview on how to identify peer reviewed articles: Recognize a scholarly/peer-reviewed article.

The journal publisher's website

If you are unsure whether or not an article is peer reviewed, you must look at the journal rather than the article. One of the best places to find out if a journal is peer-reviewed is the journal website. Most publications have a journal website that includes information for authors about the publication process. If you find the journal website, look for the link that says information for authors, instructions for authors, guidelines for authors or something similar. On this page is information about whether the articles are peer reviewed.

Article found in a library database

In an Ebsco database, you will look at the detailed record of the article (you will see this when you click on the title of a search result). Then click on the Source (the name of the publication):

You will then see information about the specific journal. The last item on the list will be a simple yes or no to your question:

Other databases may provide the same information using different words or visual cues. If you are still unsure, please give us a call, chat with us, or send us an email and a Research Librarian can help you.

Peer-reviewed or refereed journals have an editorial board of subject experts who review and evaluate submitted articles before accepting them for publication. A journal may be a scholarly journal but not a peer-reviewed journal.

Peer review (or referee) process

An editorial board asks subject experts to review and evaluate submitted articles before accepting them for publication in a scholarly journal.
Submissions are evaluated using criteria including the excellence, novelty and significance of the research or ideas.
Scholarly journals use this process to protect and maintain the quality of material they publish.
Members of the editorial board are listed near the beginning of each journal issue.

How to tell if a journal is peer-reviewed

If you are searching for scholarly or peer-reviewed articles in a database, you may be able to limit your results to peer-reviewed articles.
If you're looking at the journal itself, search for references to their peer-review process, such as in an editorial statement, or a section with instructions to authors.
You can also search for your journal title in Ulrichsweb (a directory of periodicals worldwide, previously called Ulrichs], which includes basic information about each publication, including whether it is peer-reviewed/refereed.

For an overview of the different types of journals, see What is a scholarly (or peer-reviewed) journal?

What is meant by peer

Essentially, peer review is an academic term for quality control. Each article published in a peer-reviewed journal was closely examined by a panel of reviewers who are experts on the article's topic (that is, the author's professional peers… hence the term peer review).

How do you check if an article is peer

You can type the name of the journal into any search engine and learn about the submission process to see if it is peer reviewed. Additionally, if you use the library search or a database to find articles, they will usually indicate if it is from a peer reviewed journal.

What is the difference between a peer

In short, “scholarly” means the article was written by an expert for an audience of other experts, researchers or students. “Peer-reviewed” takes it one step further and means the article was reviewed and critiqued by the author's peers who are experts in the same subject area.