Search Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
If you're ever unsure whether an article is peer-reviewed, you can look up the journal title in Ulrich's Periodicals Directory. Select Title (Exact) in the top right Quick Search box and enter the name of the journal. A referee jersey icon will appear next to the journal title if it is peer-reviewed.
Not all published material has the same credibility.
Peer-reviewed articles have more authority because they have been scrutinized and approved by scholars in a particular field. In other words, they have been reviewed by the author's peers. Peer-reviewed articles/journals are also called scholarly, academic, or refereed (as opposed to popular and trade journals). To learn more, see this tutorial.
There are ways to identify peer-reviewed articles including:
Limit database searches to only peer-reviewed articles
When searching for articles in databases, look for a search option for limiting to only peer-reviewed articles. In EBSCOhost databases, look for this option on the bottom half of the Advanced Search screen. There is no peer-review search limit option in PubMed or Web of Science.
