FAQ: How can I determine if a journal is peer reviewed?
To determine if a journal is peer reviewed (also sometimes called refereed journals), try these options.
Search UlrichsWeb
Look up the journal in the UlrichsWeb: Global Serials Directory This link opens in a new window (available on the A-Z Database List) which contains information on periodicals. In UlrichsWeb, use the search box to search for the title or ISSN number of the journal (e.g. Harvard Law Review). Once you find the journal you are interested in, click on the title to see more information about the journal. To determine if it is peer reviewed, find the Refereed section (UlrichsWeb usually calls peer reviewed journals "refereed"). If it says yes, then it's a peer-reviewed journal.
UlrichsWeb may also provide you with information about the content in the journal (e.g. "Academic/Scholarly"), a description, and the publisher's website. These can be helpful if you want to determine if a journal is scholarly, even if it's not peer reviewed (all peer reviewed journals are scholarly, but not all scholarly journals are peer reviewed).
Check Status in Library Database
Another way to determine if a journal is peer reviewed is to examine the information about the publication in the database you are searching. Some databases provide information about the journal that you can look up, sometimes by clicking on the title of the journal after you find an article or there will be a peer review label near the title. For example, in EBSCO databases, if a journal is peer reviewed, you will see a yellow badge with a check mark with the words Peer Reviewed Academic Journal above the title in the results list.
Check the Journal's Website
If information about the journal is not available via a database, you may need to look up information about the journal elsewhere online. One of the best places to look online for confirmation of whether or not a journal is peer reviewed is on the publisher's website. Regardless, make sure to evaluate any web resources you use to look up a journal to ensure that the information you find is accurate.
Apply Peer Review Limiters
Finally, if you need to use sources from peer reviewed journals, you may want to try using limiters. Some of the library's databases allow users to limit search results to articles that are published in peer reviewed journals. This will go a long way towards helping you find peer reviewed journals but can be imperfect, so you should always still evaluate articles you find to ensure that they are considered scholarly.
More Information
If you still can't determine whether a journal is peer reviewed or have additional questions, you can ask Research Support for assistance through chat or by emailing ask@snhu.libanswers.com.