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Rider University Libraries

Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed vs. Popular?

You need a scholarly or a peer-reviewed article. What does that mean? How do you tell what you've got? This guide will help.

How do I tell if an article in a database is scholarly?

Many databases indicate whether the article is "academic" or  "peer-reviewed" in the full citation.  Also, you can limit your search results  to "academic journals" or "peer-reviewed," so your results will all be scholarly material.

If this information is not available, another option is to look up the title of journal in a database called Ulrichsweb, which gives publication information on all types of periodicals.

If in doubt, ask a librarian! We'll be glad to help. 

 

Example 1: You can limit your search immediately BEFORE you search.

Advanced search screen of Academic Search Premier with Limit Your results option "peer-reviewed" highlighted in a red box.

 OR

 

ABI/Inform search box with peer reviewed option below it highlighted in a red box.

 

Example 2: You can limit to "Academic Journals" or "Scholarly Journals" (depending on the database you are in) AFTER  you conduct your search, thus filtering your results.

Peer reviewed is highlighted in a red box under the "Limit to" option.

 

or

 

Academic Journals is highlighed in a red box under the "Source Types" category.