What is a peer-reviewed or scholarly article?
Answer
Peer review is a process through which scientific, academic, or professional work is evaluated by others working in the same field. This process can take months or even years and often involved multiple rounds of editing. When you see an article is peer reviewed, it means that the journal in which it was published puts its materials through a peer review process before it is published.
Articles in peer reviewed or scholarly journals are almost always reporting on original research. The article will usually have these elements:
- Author(s) credentials or academic affiliation
- A lengthy abstract
- Report on the research methodology
- Conclusion or results of the research
- Footnotes or in-text references
- A lengthy bibliography
If you would like to learn more about the peer review process, check out the Peer Review in 3 Minutes (video) from NC State University Libraries.