Overview
Peer review process
Scholarly journals
Popular magazines
Distinguish between peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed articles?
Examples - Peer reviewed journals
Examples - Popular magazines
How to find

Overview

This guide describes the peer review process and distinguishes peer reviewed articles and scholarly journals from popular magazines.  Be sure to check with your instructor or a librarian, if you are unsure whether a source is a scholarly or peer reviewed resource for your topic.

Peer reviewed journals
Peer reviewed journals undertake rigorous protocolss in the selection and publishing of articles.  Drafts of articles undergo critical review and assessment by other scholars in the author's field before they are accepted for publication.

Scholarly journals
Scholarly journals contain peer reviewed articles, have certain characteristics and adhere to high standards in publishing.

• Authors are scholars, professors, or professionals in the field.
• Content refers to or demonstrates original research in a specialized field and is written for an audience of scholars, experts and researchers.
• Most articles are peer reviewed or refereed by scholars in the field.
• Referees are frequently not employed directly by the journal.
• Articles cite their sources and include footnotes and/or a bibliography.
• Few or no advertisements appear in the journal.
• Graphics are rare, and journals are largely text only.
• Issues usually appear less frequently, such as bi-annually, quarterly or monthly.
• Scholarly journals are indexed in specialized databases, such as PsycInfo, Education Index or ERIC.

Popular Magazines
Popular magazines have different publishing guidelines and are written for a general, non-scholarly, though sometimes specialized, audience:

• Authors may be journalists, free-lance writers, or scholars who are not well known in a field.
• Content covers topics of general interest or newsworthy material.
• Articles are written for the general public or a special segment of the public as an audience.
• Magazines rarely cite sources or provide bibliographies, although original or scholarly sources may be mentioned.
• Articles are selected by the editorial staff of the magazine.
• Magazines contain colorful advertisements and graphics, often unrelated to the content of the magazine.
• Magazines are published more frequently, such as weekly or monthly.
• Articles are indexed in general databases such as Expanded Academic, Lexis-Nexis, or ProQuest.

Why is it important to distinguish between peer-reviewed and popular articles?

Research gains credibility and respect when it demonstrates review of other scholarly literature and an examination of both primary and secondary sources.  Peer reviewed articles are ranked with greater authority and significance and, although highly specialized, are generally considered to have an objective or neutral viewpoint.  Peer reviewed articles are written by experts in the field and are often based on empirical studies.

Popular magazines offer editorial opinions, general discussion, current topics, graphics, photography, media, and advertisements.  Popular articles may be primary sources if they tell a first hand account or present original reporting; however, they may also reflect the editorial bias of the magazine.

Peer reviewed journals - Examples

Adult Education Quarterly
American Behavioral Scientist
American Educational Research Journal
American Journal of Education
American Journal of Family Therapy
Biological Psychology

Popular Magazines - Examples

Newsweek
Oprah
Parents
Popular Science
Psychology Today
Time

How to find peer reviewed or popular articles.
Use indexing and abstracting databases to find articles at the UC Berkeley Library.
For access to peer reviewed articles, the Library licenses the following databases for education and psychology literature:

• PsycInfo, PsycArticles and Psychology-Sage, the primary indexes in psychology, are available via the CSA platform.
• ERIC and Education Full Text are the primary indexes to articles in the field of education. The Library subscribes to ERIC via CSA and Education Index via WilsonWeb.  Both the CSA and WilsonWeb platforms provide a way to limit searches to peer reviewed articles only.  Ask a librarian or view a tutorial to learn more about how such limiting is done.

To see a list of leading scholarly journals in either education or psychology, check ISI's Journal Citation Reports.

For access to popular articles, the UC Berkeley Library licenses several indexes and databases, including the following:

• Expanded Academic ASAP - links to both popular and peer reviewed articles in multiple subjects.
• FirstSearch - links to multi-subject articles and government documents.
• Lexis-Nexis - links to both popular magazines and leading newspapers.
• Periodicals Contents Index - links to multi-subject popular and peer reviewed articles.
  
• Project Muse - links to multi-subject peer-reviewed and popular material from 1993.
• ProQuest - links to news.
• Readers Guide Retro - links to multi-subject popular articles.
  
  
  Written by Jill L. Woolums, Librarian, Education Psychology Library.