My professor says I can only use peer-reviewed articles. What does that mean and how can I tell if something is peer-reviewed?
Answer
When scholars submit articles for publication, often the journal editors ask other experts in the field to review the work to ensure the findings are original, legitimate, and well-researched. This is called peer-review. You can tell if a journal puts its content through peer-review by visiting the journal website or looking at the journal itself and examining the guidelines for authors to submit work to the journal. Look for terms like:
- refereed
- blind or double-blind review
- editorial review
For more info, take a look at this short video about the peer review process.