Advanced Application of Learning Sciences - EDUC 565 Resource Guide

Peer review is the process by which an article is screened and evaluated by a panel of experts before it is published. 

The reviewers will evaluate the article for:

• Quality.
• Credibility.
• Accuracy.
• Clear writing.
• New contributions to knowledge.
• Sound methodology.
• Conclusions supported by the data. 

Peer-reviewed journals are also known as refereed or juried journals. 

It helps ensures that published articles are of high quality and that new knowledge is being created.

As a student, you can be confident that you are using authoritative sources.

Many databases have an option for limiting to peer-reviewed journals.  Check the limit options on the advanced search screen of a database to see if you can limit your search to articles that have been published in peer-reviewed journals.

Look for options such as

• Peer Reviewed.
• Refereed
• Academic or scholarly journals.  (Be advised that journals can be academic or scholarly without being peer reviewed.)

Watch these two videos produced by other libraries:

Peer-reviewed journals do contain some information that is itself not refereed, such as editorials, opinions, letters, and book reviews.  So, you need to consider whether the individual article or essay has been reviewed and approved by other scholars.

This page has been adapted from the "Understand Peer Review" guide created by the library staff of Red Deer College (RDC) in Alberta, Canada.

We appreciate receiving permission from the RDC librarians to use and adapt their guide.