A JOURNAL is a periodical that only publishes articles after they have passed a rigorous editing and review process. Sometimes the journal will have an editor, or panel of editors, that conduct this review. Sometimes the journal will use a “peer review” process, which may also be called a “blind review,” and the journals following this procedure are also known as “refereed” or sometimes “vetted” journals.
For a PEER REVIEW, articles being considered for publication in the journal will first have the author’s name removed and then will be submitted to other scholars (or peers) in the subject of the article. These peers will evaluate the content, accuracy, and importance of the article, and provide their criticisms and comments. They will review it the same way your instructor reviews your written work. If the article passes the review, it is returned to the author for revisions, after which it may be published.
Scholarly periodicals that DO NOT use the peer review process may be called
Scholarly periodicals that DO use the peer review process may be called any of the names listed above, in addition to the more specific and unambiguous names listed below.
For assignments where "peer reviewed" journal articles are required, use the library databases, search on your subject or topic words, and look for, and use the link or command in the database program to LIMIT TO PEER REVIEWED JOURNALS. This is the easiest, fastest, and most accurate way for students to find these types of journal articles. If you are interested, you can talk to a librarian about other methods to determine if the journal is peer reviewed.
Most of the articles that are published in scholarly, academic, and peer-reviewed journals will be the reports of scientific experiments, following the scientific method or other accepted form of analysis that is appropriate to their academic field of study.
Scholarly journals also publish Book Reviews, Conference Proceedings or Reports, Literature Reviews, , Meta-Analysis, Essays, Commentary, Letters, Opinion, Retractions, Corrections. You can filter these out using Advanced Search options.
When you click the Advanced Search link, located under the main search box, you then have the option of entering different search words in different fields, and of choosing exactly what you want to search in each field. You can also choose the “NOT” option, which filters out the search word you type into that field, and retrieves only articles that do NOT have that word or phrase. Look at the example below, which is from one of CR's EBSCO brand databases. Other databases from other publishers will not look exactly the same, but will have many of the exact same features.
Notice the NOT selections and thus, the kinds of articles that would NOT be searched for. This filters out all of the articles that are meta-analysis, reviews, essays, etc.
CITATIONS: All JOURNAL articles provide citations to the sources of information the author used as a basis for research and to write the article. Citations may appear as footnotes or at the end of the article as “Bibliography,” “Works Cited,” or “References.”
LENGTH & SCOPE: Most JOURNAL articles are lengthy, and assume a certain degree of knowledge on the part of the reader. Specialized terminology may be used. Statistical tests used will not be explained; only their significance and conclusions drawn from the tests will be discussed.
AUTHORS: Most JOURNALS will provide a sidebar or footnote, or a separate section, with information about the author’s credentials as a scholar, researcher, or professional. Or, the author’s university or research institute is provided.
SPONSORS: Most JOURNALS are published by, or sponsored by, a university, research lab, professional association, or a non-profit organization.
EDITORS: Most JOURNALS will have a section near the front of the back of each issue that lists their editorial board and their reviewers, with the professional affiliation of each member. Many will also include submission guidelines, which will indicate how rigorous the review process is.
ADVERTISEMENTS: Generally, JOURNALS do not accept advertisements. Revenue to support publication is from the SPONSOR, and from subscription fees. Journals are often very expensive. If there are advertisements, they will usually be for other scholarly publications, or for conference announcements.
NAME OF PERIODCAL: Some may have the word “journal,” “review,” “bulletin,” or “research” in their title. However, this is the least reliable way to determine if the periodical is a research journal or not.
BIAS: Most JOURNALS are careful to avoid bias. However, be aware that some non-profit organizations or “think tanks” have explicit political or social agendas, which may be reflected in the articles published.
AUDIENCE: JOURNALS are read by students, professionals, scholars, instructors and faculty, and other researchers. Within each profession or subject field, there is usually a group of “core” journals considered essential reading by all those in the profession or field of study.