PHYS 1415 Physical Science I

Science professionals stay current with developments in their field by regularly reading academic journals. Academic journals publish the results of professional research in peer-reviewed articles. Peer-reviewed means that a panel of experts read and critiqued the article for clarity, accuracy, and meaningfulness to the field before it was published. Articles sometimes go through several rounds of review before they are deemed ready to publish. Published peer-reviewed articles are authoritative and trustworthy because they have been through this rigorous review process. 

How Can I Tell If An Article Has Been Peer-Reviewed?

An academic peer-reviewed research article will either discuss the results of research done by the author(s) or discuss the state of a research topic in general, e.g., a literature review or a meta-analysis. Below are some key signs to know if you have chosen a peer-reviewed article:

• Provides qualifications of the author(s), e.g., university or research affiliations
• Identified as peer-reviewed in a library database or on a verified journal website (just like there are fake news websites, there are now fake online journals where people can pay a fee to publish low-quality research)
• Has both in-text citations and a reference list at the end of the article (helps eliminate other types of articles, such as editorials, that are published in academic journals)

For more in-depth help, please see these resources:

Database links open in a new tab. 

Suggested Sources for Peer-Reviewed Articles: