A peer-reviewed article is one that is published in a refereed or scholarly journal. These journals differ from a popular magazine such as Time or Newsweek in several ways. There is not really a basic definition; however, a peer-reviewed journal has the following characteristics:
- Abstracts (or article summaries) are usually found on the first page of the article.
- The article is usually written by an expert in the field, i.e., professor, researcher.
- Many times the article will have footnotes and/or a bibliography.
- Articles are often longer and contain a detailed analysis of a specific topic.
- Very few advertisements are in the journal.
- The journal is usually published monthly or quarterly.
- Articles are generally reviewed by an editorial board of outside scholars before they are published.
Many of the databases for which Collier Library subcribes has a small box that can be checked to request only peer-reviewed articles. This box will be near or adjacent to the box that requests only full-text articles.
Some examples of peer-reviewed journals are:
- Journal of Historical Geography
- Modern Philogy
- Criminology
- Journal of the American Medical Association
