Frequently Asked Questions

Watch this library tutorial about Peer Review - 

Peer Review is a process that an article goes through before being published in a reputable peer reviewed journal.

1. Author submits their draft article to a journal that has peer review.
2. That journal’s editor checks to see if the article fits the specification of the journal
3. Then the editor sends the article to peer review, a group of experts in the same field as the article, sometimes called referees. They answer the following questions about the article.
   1. What is the article ABOUT
   2. Is the research INTERESTING
   3. Is the research IMPORTANT
   4. Is the METHODOLOGY sound
   5. Is it LOGICAL
   6. Is the content ORIGINAL
4. Then the referees make their recommendation
   1. ACCEPT which happens the first time rarely
   2. REVISE which happens more often
   3. REJECT which happens to as much as 90% of the time depending on the journal.
5. Once an article makes it past peer review, the Editor makes any final edits

While peer review can cause some drawbacks, such as ideas being dated since the process takes time and that rejected research is common and can cause accepted research to be more mainstream

Peer review is good for

• QUALITY CONTROL
• HIGHER ESTEEM
• And ultimately TRUST

If you need help finding peer reviewed articles be sure to check a box like this one when searching.

Be sure to Book A Librarian if you need help finding peer reviewed sources. 

Here is a fun and helpful way to picture just what "peer-reviewed means from Elise Gravel.