The goal of peer review is to assess the quality of articles submitted for publication in a scholarly journal. Because a peer-reviewed journal will not publish articles that fail to meet the standards established for a given discipline, peer-reviewed articles that are accepted for publication exemplify the best research practices in a field.
Always use peer reviewed sources when citing from journals. Other materials such as books or news sources have their own method to test whether they are good sources.
Below is an example image of how to limit your search. Once you've done your search, there will be a way to refine results. This will look slightly different based on the database used. From there you can limit your results to only include those that are peer reviewed.
Primary sources are firsthand or eyewitness accounts. They present the actual evidence of an event without any analysis or interpretation. Primary sources include diaries, letters, legal or court documents, laws, speeches, statistics, journals, original research documents, and the like.
Secondary sources analyze, interpret, retell, explain, or critique primary sources. This category includes articles in journals.
Tertiary sources index, organize, and compile other sources and are generally not referenced in academic research. This category includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, and textbooks.
Scholarly sources, such as journals, are written by the experts in the subject matter. They are often written for use by other scholars, researchers, or serious students of the subject. They often use language that is specific to that discipline. They usually include in-text citations or footnotes and a works cited or bibliography. They are often peer-reviewed, meaning the article has been anonymously reviewed by a panel of experts in the topic before it has been accepted for publication. They are usually published by a professional organization, research center, or scholarly press.
Popular sources, including magazines and news sources, are written for a more general audience, not necessarily experts in the topic. They are often written by journalists or others who are not professionals in the field. They are written in easy to understand language; they do not use technical jargon. Although they may have footnotes and/or citations, they are usually not as extensive. There may be little or no editorial review.
Professional/Trade sources are published for practitioners in specific fields. Generally, both the audience and the authors of trade publications are practitioners in the selected field.
Popular and trade publications are not better or worse than scholarly publications - each source must be judged individually and within the context of the information need.
While you are searching for resources, put them to the test by using the PROMPT (Presentation, Relevance, Objectivity, Method, Provenance, Timeliness) set of criteria to ensure you are using quality resources that will help answer your assignment question.
Presentation:
Relevance:
Objectivity:
Method:
Provenance:
Timeliness: