The Peer Review Process

This tutorial was created for your library by: Council of State University Libraries, Information Literacy Subcommittee Stephanie Brenenson, Florida International University Carol Maksian Florida Gulf Coast University Caroline Reed New College of Florida Created 2010

The Peer Review Process This tutorial is divided into three components and will answer three major questions:  What is Peer Review ?  How do I locate Peer - Reviewed articles ?  How can I find out if a journal is Peer Reviewed ?

What is Peer Review?

Peer-reviewed articles are written by experts. These articles are reviewed or refereed by other experts, their peers, before they are published in scholarly publications.

Peer-reviewed journal articles are a way to keep track of the new knowledge that is being produced within a discipline.

Your professors are doing a lot more than teaching students. They are busy doing research, often creating new knowledge, and writing articles for peer- reviewed journals. So, how is the article written?

Conceptualizes and conducts a study. Collects results Presents findings Writes an article Sends article to journal editor Sends article to reviewers The Peer Review Process

Conceptualizes and conducts a study. Collects results Presents findings Writes an article Sends article to journal editor Sends article to reviewers The Peer Review Process

Conceptualizes and conducts a study. Collects results Presents findings Writes an article Sends article to journal editor Sends article to reviewers The Peer Review Process

Conceptualizes and conducts a study. Collects results Presents findings Writes an article Sends article to journal editor Sends article to reviewers The Peer Review Process

Conceptualizes and conducts a study. Collects results Presents findings Writes an article Sends article to journal editor Sends article to reviewers The Peer Review Process

Conceptualizes and conducts a study. Collects results Presents findings Writes an article Sends article to journal editor Sends article to reviewers The Peer Review Process

►What is this new knowledge about? ►What is significant about the article’s findings? ►What methods does the author use? ►Does it make sense? Is it logical? The peer reviewers ask questions such as:

An article in a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal can take up to two years to be published. Sometimes the article may be rejected and never be published.

Conceptualizes and conducts a study. Collects results Presents findings Writes an article Sends article to journal editor Sends article to reviewers Published at last!

You will find peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, not in the popular literature.

Academic journals are the magazines for scholars in specialized fields such as psychology, mathematics, political science, etc.

Many academic journals are available in library databases or on the shelves in your college library.

Remember: Peer Review = Quality Control

How do I locate peer- reviewed articles?

Locating Peer-Reviewed Articles Using Online Databases Academic libraries subscribe to online databases that index a variety of resources, including journals. Some libraries have over 200 different databases.

To locate databases by subject or title, go to your library’s databases page. Search one or more databases to locate journal articles on your topic. Use the Online Database Page at your Academic Library

Academic Database Examples PsycINFOATLA Religion DatabaseEducation Full TextScience Direct History Resource Center Academic OneFile (Gale) Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) Omni (Wilson)Proquest Research Multidisciplinary Good for Most Topics Subject Specific

Some of the major advantages to searching academic databases are:  Identify appropriate resources  Locate full text articles  Narrow your results to peer-reviewed or scholarly journals  Limit by format such as books, videos or journals  Limit by date Locating Peer-Reviewed Articles

Academic databases will often allow you to limit to peer-reviewed articles by: ►Limiting your search to peer-reviewed journals only ► Narrowing your results to peer-reviewed journals

Limiting Searches to Peer-Reviewed Journals

Narrowing Results to Peer-Reviewed Journals

Recap: Most databases offer one or both of these options: ► Limit your search to peer-reviewed journals ► Narrow your results to peer-reviewed journals

How can I find out if a journal is peer reviewed?

 Is my article from a peer-reviewed journal?  What are some peer-reviewed journals in my field of study? Identifying Peer-Reviewed Journals

Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory can help you identify peer- reviewed journals. Most libraries have it available online or in the Reference section.

Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory To find Ulrich’s, search your library catalog for the title, Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory.

Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory Sometimes the online version may also be located by going to your library’s databases page and doing a search for Ulrich’s.

ULRICHSWEB American Journal of Physical Anthropology

ULRICHSWEB

Remember: Peer Review = Quality Control If you have questions about the best resources for your topic, identifying peer review journals, or need research assistance, please contact your campus librarian.