What does "peer review" mean?

Answer

Peer review is an academic term for quality control.  Each article published in a peer-reviewed journal was closely examined by a panel of experts on the article's topic. These are the author’s professional peers, hence the term peer review. 

The reviewers look for proper use of research methods, significance of the paper’s contribution to the existing literature, and integration of previous authors’ work on the topic in any discussion (including citations).  Papers published in these journals are expert-approved, and are the most authoritative sources of information for college-level research papers. 

Articles from popular publications, on the other hand (like magazines, newspapers or many sites on the Internet), are published with minimal editing (for spelling and grammar, perhaps; but, typically not for factual accuracy or intellectual integrity).  While interesting to read, these articles aren’t sufficient to support research at an academic level. 

But, with so many articles out there, how do you know which are peer reviewed?

  • Searching the library’s databases can save you a lot of time. When you use the library's databases you can limit your search to scholarly or peer reviewed articles only. Most Internet search engines can’t do this for you, leaving you to determine for yourself which of those thousands of articles are peer reviewed. 
  • If you’ve already found an article that you’d like to use in a research paper, but you’re not sure if it’s popular or scholarly, there are ways to tell.  The table below lists some of the most obvious clues, but if you have any questions let us know. 

Journal Types: A Comparative Chart

 
  POPULAR SCHOLARLY PROFESSIONAL
Purpose To inform and entertain the general reader To communicate research and scholarly ideas To apply information; to provide professional support
Audience General public Other scholars, students Practitioners in the field, professionals
Coverage Broad variety of public interest topics, cross disciplinary Very narrow and specific subjects Information relevant to field and members of a group
Publisher Commercial Professional associations; academic institutions; and many commercial publishers Professional, occupational, or trade group
Writers Employees of the publication, freelancers (including journalists and scholars) Scholars, researchers, experts, usually listed with their institutional affiliation Members of the profession, journalists, researchers, scholars
Characteristics
  • Little technical language or jargon
  • Few or no cited references
  • Absence of bibliographies
  • General summaries of background information
  • Contain numerous advertisements
  • Articles are usually brief; between 1-7 pages
  • Little or no background information given
  • Technical language and discipline- specific jargon
  • PEER REVIEW, editorial board
  • Bibliographies included
  • Procedures and materials often described in detail
  • Articles are longer, often over 5 pages
  • Application of new technology
  • Employment issues
  • Practitioners viewpoint
  • Technical language used
  • Interpretation of research trends and issues
  • Articles are usually brief; between 1-7 pages
  • Contain advertisements
Frequency Frequent, on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis Less frequent, on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis Frequent, on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis
Examples Time, US News and World Report, Modern Healthcare Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Institute of Transportation Engineers Journal
 

source: Rutgers Journal Types: A Comparative Chart

 

 

 

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  • Last Updated Jan 15, 2022
  • Views 50
  • Answered By Megan Yareoiutepiy

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