Discovery: Journal Searching
Use the library Discovery search to find journal articles, limit to peer-reviewed and/or full text from the result list. The tutorial below is a great place to begin learning more!
On the diagram below notice the location of filters to limit results to Trevecca's library, peer-reviewed, and articles from the result list.
About Peer Reviewed
Research Journals or Articles?
Many writing assignments require students to use "research," "scholarly", "peer reviewed", or "referred" journals. These terms are often used interchangeably, although "peer reviewed" is the most clear and specific way to designate this type of publication.
Start by viewing this YouTube video Scholarly vs Popular Periodicals to see and understand the differences between scholarly journals and general magazines.
Peer reviewed or Referred journals are the most important sources of information for many scholars. These journals do not publish an article unless it is recommended by other scholars/experts. Often this recommendation must be made blindly, without the reviewer knowing who the author is.
A "research" article will almost always appear in a peer reviewed journal. These are articles in which the author(s) are reporting the results of research they have conducted. They are one of several types of articles that such journals routinely publish.
Some writing assignments require finding a variety of article types from journals, magazines and trade publications. See the comparison chart below to help clarify the differences.
Comparison Chart
|
Criteria |
Scholarly/Peer Reviewed/Referred |
Popular |
News or substantive magazines |
|
Author |
Professor or scholar in related field of study |
Staff writer, free lance writer |
Staff reporter, free lance writer, or scholar |
|
Purpose |
To report on research and news in the related field of study. |
To entertain and to perhaps advocate a specific viewpoint |
To inform public |
|
References |
Each article has footnotes or a bibliography entitled Notes, Annotations, References, or Works Cited. |
Generally just the author’s name is given. |
Generally just the author’s name is given; statistical data references are included if there are charts. |
|
Illustrations |
Few photographs, mostly charts & tables in b/w, drab appearance. |
Glossy, color, heavily illustrated with photographs and few charts. |
Glossy, color, heavily illustrated with photographs and few charts. |
|
Advertising |
Few. If there is advertising it is directly related to the subject area of the magazine. |
Many – items that appeal to the general public
|
Many – items that appeal to the general public such as airlines, liquor, computers etc… |
|
Editing |
Official editorial process involving review and approval of the article by the authors peers prior to acceptance for publication. These are called ‘Peer Reviewed’ or ‘Referred’ |
Reviewed by one or more persons working for the magazine. |
Reviewed by one or more persons working for the magazine. |
|
Examples |
History Today; Social Forces; Modern Fiction Studies |
Family Circle; Field and Stream; Popular Mechanics; Vogue; Fortune |
Time; Newsweek; National Geographic; Scientific American; Economist |
Database Examples: Limit to Peer Reviewed
Most of our databases have the option to limit search results to a peer reviewed journal. Examples below show where to limit to peer reviewed articles within ProQuest, Gale's Academic OneFile, and EBSCO Business Source databases.
ProQuest
Gale's Academic OneFile
EBSCO's Business Source Complete
