Library & Information Science
For additional assistance, contact Mary Feeney
Tips for Finding Peer-Reviewed (Refereed) Journals
Understand what a "peer-reviewed" journal is
Identify whether a journal is peer-reviewed
Understand what a "peer-reviewed" journal is
What does “peer-reviewed” mean?
The parameters of your assignment may require that you find research studies from “peer-reviewed” journals.
ODLIS (Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science) defines "peer-reviewed" as:
“a scholarly journal that requires an article to be subjected to a process of critical evaluation by one or more experts on the subject, known as referees, responsible for determining if the subject of the article falls within the scope of the publication and for evaluating originality, quality of research, clarity of presentation, etc..synonymous with juried and refereed.”
Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory describes a “refereed” journal as:
“otherwise known as peer-review. Refers to the system of critical evaluation of manuscripts/articles by professional colleagues or peers. The content of refereed publications is sanctioned, vetted, or otherwise approved by a peer-review or editorial board. The peer-review and evaluation system is utilized to protect, maintain, and raise the quality of scholarly material published in serials."
Identify whether a journal is peer-reviewed
How do you know if a journal is “peer-reviewed”?
Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory, a database to which the University of Arizona Library subscribes, provides detailed directory information on hundreds of thousands of periodicals. It includes information on whether a periodical is refereed, or peer-reviewed.
You can search Ulrich's with a specific journal title to find out if it's refereed. The image below shows the record for Portal: Libraries and the Academy. The Document Type is “Journal; Academic/Scholarly,” and the Refereed field is “Yes.”
This lets you know that Portal: Libraries and the Academy is a peer-reviewed journal. Note, however, that in addition to refereed articles, many journals include other types of documents. For example, Portal also includes editorials and book reviews, so not everything in a “peer-reviewed” journal is a research study.
You can also search Ulrich's for a list of refereed journals in a given field, using advanced search. Use "Library and Information Sciences" as your Subject search, and check the Refereed box in the list of Features:
Another way to identify whether a journal is refereed is by reading the submission guidelines for the journal. For example, the "Information for Contributors" section of Portal: Libraries and the Academy states that it is "an international refereed quarterly journal, [that] publishes articles that focus on all aspects of librarianship..."