What are peer-reviewed articles and where do I find them?
Answer
Sometimes, you may be asked to use peer-reviewed articles in your research task.
Peer-reviewed articles are scholarly articles published in peer-reviewed journals. They are reviewed by other scholars or experts in the field before being accepted for publication. The peer-review process ensures that only valid, accurate, and quality research that contributes to the body of knowledge in a field is published.
Note: The words “scholarly” and “peer-reviewed” are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Peer-reviewed articles are always scholarly, but not all scholarly sources are peer-reviewed.
Peer-reviewed publications are produced specifically for academics, scholars and professionals.
A peer-reviewed article will usually:
- be written in academic language,
- have authors with academic credentials,
- have an abstract; and
- have an extensive list of references.
You can find peer-reviewed articles by searching the SAE library catalogue or various library databases. To limit results to peer-reviewed articles while searching the library catalogue, select the Peer-Reviewed filter on the left-hand side of the Library catalogue results screen.
Some databases such as JSTOR contain mostly peer-reviewed journals. Others have a mix of scholarly journals, popular magazines, trade publications and other material. In databases such as ProQuest Arts Premium or Gale, you can limit your search to peer-reviewed articles.
If you need help identifying scholarly articles, ask a Librarian for help!