How can I find a scholarly article/tell if an article is peer-reviewed?
Answer
You can find scholarly articles (also known as academic/peer-reviewed/research articles) in most of our library databases. Start in one of these databases, then limit your search to only these types of articles:
- In EBSCO databases: check the "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" or "Academic Journals" boxes
- In ProQuest databases: select "Scholarly Journals"
- In ScienceDirect: check the "Research articles" box
- In the library catalog: check the "Peer-reviewed Journals" box
Even once you've done this (or if you are searching outside the library databases), you still need to make sure the exact article you're looking at is a research article. In addition to peer-reviewed articles, scholarly journals can include things like letters to the editor, book reviews, and shorter review articles.
Read the abstract (summary) or skim the article to look for a reference to the authors doing a research study. For more information about identifying these articles, check out our Peer-Reviewed, Scholarly Journals guide.
