What does "Peer review" mean?
Peer review is a process in which other scholars in the author's field or specialty critically assess a draft of the article. Peer reviewed, or refereed, journals are scholarly journals that only publish articles that have gone through this review process.
Scholarly journals vs. popular magazines
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Popular Magazines & Newspapers |
Scholarly Journals |
Audience
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General public |
Professionals within a field |
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Articles written by |
Journalists |
Professionals within a field Articles usually indicate author affiliations (such as universities or research centers) |
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Content |
News |
In-depth research Charts, graphs, or equations often very helpful in finding more information on a subject) Continuous pagination (first issue of the year starts at page 1, subsequent issues continue the page numbering from the previous issue) |
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Appearance |
Consumer advertising |
Dense text |
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Publication schedule |
Weekly Issues usually identified by day/month/year |
Monthly Issues usually identified by volume and/or issue number |
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Can be useful for: |
Broad overview of complex issues. issue. written about a subject generally. |
Current research |
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Other factors |
Primary sources for popular culture or public opinion study; usually used as secondary sources |
Peer Reviewed Abstracts or summaries often provided before each article. Primary sources for lab or field research; secondary sources for literary criticism. |
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Examples |
Examples include Time, World Report, National Geographic, and the New York Times
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Examples include American Journal of Sociology, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) [the word “journal” is often in the title]
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