Peer-review is an important step in the publishing process for some journals. Articles submitted to peer-reviewed journals must be reviewed by at least one expert in the field. The reviewer, also known as "referee," evaluates the research presented in the article. Articles that pass the peer-review process are published in the journal and considered peer-reviewed or refereed; those that don't pass are not published.

Is it Peer Reviewed?

There are a few different methods you can use to evaluate sources:

• Asking questions is a good place to start!
  • Where is the article published? Website, magazine, journal?
    • If your article is found on a website or magazine, it isn't peer-reviewed.
    • If your article is found in a journal, keep asking questions!
  • What is the name of the journal?
  • Does the journal have a website or informational page?
    • If so, is the journal peer-reviewed?
• Another method is to use Ulrich’s Web.
  • Ulrich's Web is a bibliographic database providing detailed, comprehensive, and authoritative information on journals published throughout the world. 
  • Go to Ulrich's Web and type in the title of your journal or periodical or follow the Is your source peer-reviewed link below!

Learn More:

• Is your source peer-reviewed?
• Evaluating Sources