Library:Research Skills For Engineering Students/Module 02/Page 08

Not all scholarly sources go through a process called peer review.

Peer review is when an article is reviewed by other experts in the field before publication. This helps ensure that a published work is high quality, accurate, informative, and with reduced bias. Sometimes these are also called refereed publications.

But how can you tell if a publication is peer reviewed? There are a few ways to check:

• Use Peer Review filters
  • Many library databases and catalogues offer the ability to click a filter on the results page, which will limit to items that have been peer-reviewed or refereed
  • Use this feature carefully, because not every article that appears may be peer reviewed
• Use the publisher's website
  • Look for information about the review process
• Ask a librarian! We can help you determine if a source is a peer-reviewed one