"Peer review" is an article review process where experts in a specific field will review an anonymous study or article before its potential publication. While there are limits to the the peer review process, this method allows multiple people to rigorously review submitted content (research, ideas, data, results, etc.) to ensure that the the author has met the highest academic standards and has presented relevant findings based on sound methodology. Peer review is most often associated with scholarly journals, but books (most often those published by university presses) can also be peer-reviewed.
In post-secondary education, you will be expected to analyze and cite peer-reviewed materials in your work. Check out the following sources to learn more about peer review:
Find out how the peer review process works and how you can use it to ensure every article you publish is as good as it can be.
The peer review process explained defines peer-reviewed articles as scholarship and outlines the peer-review process towards publication
The Library's Discovery search has a filter that allows you to limit results to those from peer-reviewed publications. You can find this filter on the left of the results page under Content Type.
If you are searching somewhere without a peer review filter, you can look for information about a publication's peer review process on its website. You will often find this information on the homepage, or in sections that provide information about the journal's publishing process (look for titles like Information for Authors, Submissions, About this Journal, etc.).
Keep in mind that even if a journal is considered peer reviewed, it may contain some materials that are not peer reviewed. While you are likely to most often use original research articles in your academic work, some types of materials like commentaries, opinion articles, book reviews, letters to the editor, and the editor’s introduction may not have not gone through the peer review process. If you are unsure about a specific type of material, try digging deeper into a publication's website. You may find information about specific types of materials and whether they are peer reviewed in sections about submissions or author guidelines.
The page includes material that has been adapted from the Evaluate Information guide by the City University of Seattle Library and used under a CC BY 4.0 license.