How to identify peer-reviewed (scholarly) articles and journals!
Accessing Ulrich's
Go to our library website and on the dark blue horizontal menu bar select "E-Resources". From that drop-down menu, select "Databases". This is also available under the "Find Articles" heading in the body of the page under "More databases". Once on the Databases A-Z page, select U. From the list of databases starting with U, select "Ulrich's Web: Global Serials Directory".
Using Ulrich's
Once in Ulrich's, type the name, or acronym, of the serial and look for an icon that resembles a referee's jersey (
). Ulrich's uses the terms peer-reviewed and refereed interchangeably, so the icon represents both terms. If the referee jersey icon is not present next to a journal, then it does not go through the peer-review process.
Finding if a journal or article is peer-reviewed via our catalog
1. Go to our home page by following this hyperlink, clicking our logo, or clicking where it says "Boston University Alumni Medical Library" under our logo.
2. Select "BU Libraries Search" under the "Catalogs" heading in the blue bar or under the "Find Books" section.
3. Type in your search terms
4. From the right hand side under "Filter My Results", select the "Peer-Reviewed Articles" filter under "Availability"
Finding if a journal or article is peer-reviewed via PubMed
1. Go to PubMed through the library's website.
2. Under Explore, select "Journals"
3. Enter or being entering a topic, the journal title or abbreviation, or ISSN
4. Either find the title from the drop-down menu or hit "search", if it doesn't appear.
5. Once you find the journal, go to its record in PubMed
6. Click on the link in the "Electronic Links" section and it should bring you to the journal's website
7. If "peer review" doesn't show up on the home page, try Ctrl+F (PC) or Command+F (Mac), and the phrase "peer review" on the:
8a. About us/Homepage
8b. For Authors/Author Guidelines/Submission Guidelines
8c. Editor Guidelines/Editorial Standards
8d. Peer Review Guidelines
NOTE: Not all journals have some or any of these pages. If there is no mention of peer-review, the journal is probably not peer-reviewed
Article types that may appear in peer-reviewed journals but are not peer-reviewed
1. Perspective, Opinion, or Commentary
2. Letters to the editor
3. Book reviews
Peer Review in 3 Minutes
libncsu. (2014, May 1). Peer Review in 3 Minutes. [Video] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOCQZ7QnoN0