Peer-reviewed, Scholarly Sources
Scholarly journals are published by scholars--people who have the highest college degree in their field--for other scholars to read. Before the article is published, it undergoes a process of peer review, during which *other* scholar specialists (the author's peers) review the article and make suggestions for improvement. It's a strenuous process, so when something is published in a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal, it is considered by college professors to be extremely reliable. Watch the video below on Understanding Peer Review.
Here are some clues/characteristics of peer-reviewed articles (but not all!)...
- They have an abstract, a summary of the article at the beginning or in the details
- They are very long in page number, often 5-40 pages
- They have a long list of citations or references at the end of the paper.
- They may include charts or graphs--no colorful advertisements or photographs.
- They may have a DOI number (digital object identifier) assigned to them
- They have section headings like...
- Introduction [Strategic reading tip: Read this section to start!]
- Methodology
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion [Strategic reading tip: Read this section to start!]
Where to find peer-reviewed articles?
Use one of the following databases:
- ProQuest
On the Advanced Search screen, put a check in the box that says "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" or "Peer reviewed," like this...
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- ProQuest
Peer-reviewed/academic articles in addition to newspaper, magazine, and trade journals from all subject areas.
- Academic Search Complete
Multidisciplinary resource. Includes peer-reviewed (refereed) journals, magazines and newspapers.
- JSTORIncludes full-text articles from academic journals, open research reports, Artstor images, and primary sources, supporting research and teaching across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
NEW for Fall 2023: Access has been expanded through the JSTOR Archival Journals and Primary Sources Collection; all Artstor content has been migrated to the JSTOR platform. - OneSearchLocate books, articles and more in the Glendale College Libraries.