A peer-reviewed article is an article published in a journal that requires that each article be judged by an independent panel of experts or scholarly/scientific peers to determine that the research methodology is sound before publication. The peer review process ensures the quality of published scholarship.

Your professor may ask you to find items that are: scholarly, refereed, or peer-reviewed.

To find peer-reviewed articles in the library's main search box or in a library database, look for the peer-reviewed check box. 

Note. peer-review refers to the process the journal uses; every item in a peer-reviewed journal may not be a peer-reviewed article. You may also find letters to the editor, speeches, and other items in a journal that uses a peer-review process.

Look for articles that:

• are long and complex
• usually have an abstract (summary) at the beginning
• use formal language
• are written by authors who are scholars and researchers in the field (and their expertise is noted in the journal)
• include a long list of sources at the end
• are usually published by a professional organization or research institution; usually not-for-profit