What are peer-reviewed articles?

Answer

Peer-reviewed articles:

• Are written by researchers, academics, and scholars with expertise in the field
• Are reviewed by other experts (peers) in the field for quality before being accepted for publication (peer-reviewed articles are often called refereed articles)

Academic and scholarly

• You can find peer-reviewed articles in peer-reviewed journals. Peer-reviewed journals are scholarly journals and have an academic focus. They are great sources for finding information on research, topics, and theories within a field or discipline.
• Scholarly journals are often published by academic presses and professional organizations.

Common characteristics

• Contain more complex language; include terms researchers and practitioners use in their field of study or discipline
• Laid out using a structured format (uses key headings to identify sections of the article, such as Introduction, Results, and Discussion)
• Are often lengthy, with a References or Bibliography section at the end

If your instructor asks you to use an article from a peer-reviewed journal, you can narrow your search results to peer-reviewed journals when you're searching our online catalog or select databases. See our How can I find peer-reviewed articles FAQ for examples.