GEP 204/504: Peer Reviewed Articles

Look for an article status statement/peer review statement.  This type of statement indicates that the article has been peer-reviewed and is located either at the beginning of the article or at the end of the article.

Here are two examples of these statements:

Received 22 December 2009; revised 27 February 2010; accepted 21 April 2010.
(To this article the reviewers said the article was good, but that some things needed to be changed before publication.)

Received 19 September 1986; accepted 24 November 1986.
(To this article the reviewers said the article was great, please publish it.  This kind of statement is really rare.)

To learn more about the peer-review process please read the Understanding Peer-Review document below.

The following characteristics list provides features of a Scholarly Article:

• Often have a formal appearance with tables, graphs, and diagrams
• Always have an abstract or summary paragraph above the text; may have sections decribing methodology
• Articles are written by an authority or expert in the field
• The language includes specialized terms and the jargon of the discipline
• Titles of scholarly journals often contain the word "Journal", "Review", "Bulletin", or "Research"
• Usually have a narrow or specific subject focus
• Contains original research, experimentation, or in-depth studies in the field
• Written for researchers, professors, or students in the field
• Often reviewed by the author's peers before publication (peer-reviewed or refereed)
• Advertising is minimal or none

[Excerpt from Mabee Library-Washburn University]