How to Know if an Article Is Peer Reviewed

Looking up the Journal in an Online Database

Determine which academic journal the article is in. If your article is from a popular newspaper or magazine, you can rule out the possibility that it's peer reviewed. But if it's from an academic journal, it still might not be peer-reviewed, so you have to check. Find the name of the journal at the bottom of the pages of an article, before it begins, or in a citation-write up alongside. If you found your article in a catalog, the journal name will be listed there.

Find an online database where you can look up the publication. If you are a student, many schools will provide access to online academic databases through their institution. Try going to your school library's home page, and searching for databases. If you can't figure it out, consider asking your librarian for help. Some databases you can try are Academic Search Premiere, AcademicOneFile, or Ulrich's Periodical Directory. If you're not a student, check if your local library provides access. Some cities, counties, and states have libraries that buy access to databases.

Search the database for the journal name. Once you've gotten the results, click on the journal name for more information. Most online academic databases contain lots of information about the journal, including the publisher, country, and whether or not it is peer-reviewed. Another word that is sometimes used is “refereed,” which means the same thing as peer-reviewed.

Finding out from the Journal Website

Determine which academic journal the article is published in. This information can be at the bottom of the pages of an article, before it begins, or at the end of the article. If you found your article in an online catalog, the journal name will be listed there. If your article is in a paper journal, you can simply check the cover. If the article is from a newspaper or a blog, it's not an academic article!

Look up the journal's website. Most academic journals have websites with information about their journal, which you can find with a quick look at your search engine. If you are having trouble finding it, try adding the word “journal” or “academic” to your search query.

Search the website for the words “peer-reviewed”. Peer-reviewed journals are proud of their high academic standards and will advertise this fact on their websites. Try searching on pages that explain what the journal is, or pages that tell authors about the publication process. Peer review is also called “blind peer review,” “scholarly peer review,” and “refereed.” Look for pages with titles like, “about us,” “submission guidelines,” and “editorial policies.”