Introduction to Psychology: Critical Evaluation of Information Sources

You might have noticed in the CRAAP Test criteria under "Accuracy" the question "Is the source from a peer-reviewed journal?" It's important for you as students to understand what peer review means, and why it makes a source much more reliable than any other type of source. Read the summary below, then watch the short video to learn more. 

Scholarly journals specialize in publishing technical and research-oriented articles, and are mostly intended for students and scholars. Because journal articles are often accessed individually online, here are some clues to look for when identifying them:

What do scholarly articles (also called "empirical research articles" or "peer-review articles") look like?

• Authors of the articles are scholars, researchers and experts within the field. Their credentials will be given.
• The articles are typically quite long, 8 pages at a minimum.
• Technical language or jargon is used.
• Articles are "peer-reviewed" meaning a group of other experts in the field reviewed the article before publication.

Use the acronym IMRaD to remember the major sections found in a scholarly article:

• An abstract summarizing the research and findings
• An Introduction stating the problem
• A Methods section that describing how the problem was studied
• A Results section reporting the findings, And
• A Discussion explaining the implications of the findings
• A list of cited works or bibliography

An important characteristic of scholarly journals is the process of peer review. Before being accepted for publication, scholarly articles are evaluated and reviewed by experts on the topic. 

Still have questions about peer review? Watch this 3-minute video created by North Carolina State University.

It covers how peer-reviewed articles are different from other types of publications, how peer-reviewed articles are tied to teaching and learning activities on college campuses, and where to go for help in finding peer-reviewed articles.