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What is a Peer-Reviewed Article?

Peer-reviewed articles have been evaluated by several researchers or subject specialist in the academic community prior to accepting it for publication. Also known as scholarly or refereed.

In most databases you may limit your search to peer-reviewed, scholarly, or refereed publications by selecting this filter.

There may be content in peer reviewed journals which is not peer reviewed. These may be book reviews, letters, or front and back matter. In most cases, though, the research articles within will be peer reviewed. Consult a librarian if you're not sure.

What is a peer reviewed article?

Tips on Searching a Database

Best Bets for Finding Scholarly Sources

A to Z Databases

Bloom's Literature This link opens in a new window Bloom's Literature contains a wide range of reference essays and scholarly criticism examining great authors and their works throughout history, as well as full-length videos of classic plays and films. Bloom's Literature includes a Literary Classics eBook shelf containing the full contents of more than 1,000 classic works of literature, and also includes a Shakespeare Center which houses in one convenient location a treasure trove of content on all things Shakespeare. 
Literature Criticism This link opens in a new window Explore the most extensive compilation of literary commentary available. Includes analysis from book excerpts, periodicals, and more. Includes Contemporary Literary Criticism, Children's Literature Review, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Drama Criticism, Literature Criticism (1400-1800), 19th Century Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Short Story Criticism, 20th Century Literary Criticism.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window Find up-to-date biographies, overviews, full-text criticisms, audio interviews, and reviews on writers from all eras. Includes Dictionary of Literary Biography, Something About the Author.
MagillOnLiterature Plus This link opens in a new window Contains biographical essays that reflect extended coverage of the 2,500 most studied authors and include up-to-date lists of each author’s principal works and current secondary bibliographies. More than 8,500 writers of fiction, poetry, drama, and essays are featured. There are more than 400 comprehensive essays on specific literary genres, themes and settings round out the collection. A cross-referenced glossary of terms is also included to provide definitive explanations of more than 1,800 literary words and phrases. View the EBSCO Search Tutorial Video
In Context: Biography This link opens in a new window Built on a foundation of more than 640,000 biographical entries, Gale In Context: Biography covers international figures from all time periods and areas of study.  The database also includes full-text articles from nearly 250 periodicals. Search for people based on one or more personal facts such as birth and death years and places, nationality, ethnicity, occupation or gender, or combine criteria to create highly-targeted custom search results.

How to Evaluate Web Sites

Evaluating Web Sites

Learn to be critical thinkers. When conducting research on the World Wide Web, evaluate the sites you are viewing using the criteria found in this section.

ACCURACY - Anyone can publish information on the web. The information may or may not be accurate. Most web sites are not verified by editors and fact checkers. Look for e-mail, contact address and phone numbers. You want to find out if the author is qualified to write the web page.
AUTHORITY - Web sites should enable the researcher to find out about the authors. Look for names, where they work, credentials, addresses, and e-mail addresses. Look for the URL domain. Is the author affiliated with an educational institution (edu), a government agency (gov), an organization (org), or a commercial site (com)? Do the authors/publishers list their qualifications?
OBJECTIVITY - Are the goals and aims of the persons or groups responsible for the web site clearly stated? Is the group/person/organization legitimate? Some sites are thinly disguised commercials or opinion pages. Does the author express his/her opinions? Ask yourself why the page was written and for whom.
CURRENCY - Dates are not usually included on web pages. Check for dead links and outdated information. If you see a date listed, it may be the date of posting or the date of revision.
COVERAGE - Are you getting all the information this site has to offer? Do you need specialized software to access the information? Are you required to pay a fee to access the information? Is the content of the web page balanced with text and graphics? Are links relevant to the document’s content? Good web sites should contain a statement explaining or summarizing topics covered on the site.

PC 7/98, 1/06

Manchester Campus Library

Manchester ENG 1010 Composition - G. Dell

What is a Peer-Reviewed Article?

Tips on Searching a Database

Best Bets for Finding Scholarly Sources

How to Evaluate Web Sites