Library DIY: Scholarly or Peer-Reviewed Articles

Peer-reviewed publications (sometimes referred to as scholarly, academic, or refereed) have gone through a review process by experts in the field before being published. These strategies can help you determine if an article is peer-reviewed.   

1. If you found the article in a library database, there may be some indicators of whether the article is scholarly.
Most publications in "Academic Journals" have been peer reviewed. 

Note, however, that some articles in peer-reviewed journals may not actually be peer-reviewed: editorials, news items, and book reviews do not necessarily go through the same review process. A peer-reviewed article should be longer than just a couple of pages and should include a bibliography. For example, the second listing above is a one-page editorial. 

2. In many library databases, the article title takes you to a linked journal name. Click it to determine whether the journal is scholarly, academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed.