How do I know an article or journal is scholarly and peer-reviewed?
I have been having some complications finding scholarly, peer-reviewed works on my schools databases and was wondering if anyone can help with a cited source indicating what an effective and proper peer-reviewed scholarly article is composed of?
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
13 Answers
There’s usually citations and a bibliography.
Most databases have an Advanced Search function which allows you to select for scholarly and/or peer-reviewed articles. That is the simplest way to find them.
On the journal homepage, follow the “about” link.
Look for particular publishers – Elsevier, Cambridge Journals, etc.
Follow the citation trail from secondary sources like coursebooks, etc.
I’m so glad you asked this, mostly because I don’t know the official answer, despite having more than one peer-reviewed scholarly article!
The first line of defense is the way that you search. If it comes up in google scholar or pubmed, it is almost certainly peer reviewed. After that, if you’re still not sure about the article, look at the journal it was published in—it should have a website, and the website should say the words “peer reviewed” somewhere on it.
If you want to ask about specific journals, I would be happy to help be a detective for you. Also, if you have trouble accessing any articles from google scholar or pubmed, I may be able to email you a pdf.
Best of luck with your research!
Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory Online if you can get access to it will tell you if a journal contains peer reviewed articles.
I have a database I can use to find peer reviewed and scholarly articles, but I am trying to find out what makes them so.
A peer-reviewed article is one that has been reviewed and critiqued by other scholars in your field prior to publication. A scholarly article is one that is written by an expert in a field and published by a journal specifically for that field, e.g., a journal of psychology.
@janbb Thanks. So, typically a scholarly article has already been peer-reviewed?
@whiteliondreams – the one implies the other, although there are scholarly articles that aren’t peer-reviewed; they typically appear on authors’ personal websites, for example.
As @the100thmonkey says, a scholarly article is not necessarily always peer-reviewed. it depends on the policy of the journal in question.
Answer this question 
This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.
Composing members:
0
