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When a professor asks you to use a scholarly, research, or academic article, they often want you to use something that is also known as a peer-reviewed article. But what exactly is a peer-reviewed article?
Before an article can be published in some academic journals, it has to go through a process known as peer review. During this process, other scholars and researchers who are also experts in the same field as the article’s author (which is why is is called peer review — these experts are their peers) evaluate the information and the research methods that were used to make sure they are valid and accurate according to the current standards of that field. The reviewers can accept the article for publication, suggest revisions, or reject the article entirely. Since a peer-reviewed journal will not publish an article that does not meet certain standards of quality, a peer-reviewed article can be considered to be an example of best research practices and scholarly thought in a field at the time when it was published.
Several of our databases, including the popular databases Academic OneFile and Academic Search Complete, allow you to limit your search to only search for peer-reviewed articles. It's a pretty cool feature, but you need to know how to find and use it!
Instructions for Academic OneFile
For Academic OneFile, you can select "Advanced Search" from the main search page before you enter your search terms.
On the Advanced Search page, select the options for "Peer-Reviewed Journals" and "Full-Text Documents" under Search Limiters before you enter your search terms and start your search. The option for full-text documents will make sure that your results page will only show you articles where the library has access to the complete article.
Instructions for Academic Search Complete
For Academic Search Complete and other EBSCOHost databases, there is a section on the main page that says "Limit your results" with checkboxes to choose "Full Text" and "Peer Reviewed." Choosing the option for full-text documents will make sure your search results will only show you articles where the library has access to the complete article. Depending on the size of your device's screen, you may have to scroll down to use these checkboxes.
Academic Search Complete and Academic OneFile are usually the most helpful databases to find scholarly articles for a beginning researcher. However, if you are having trouble finding useful information, there are several other databases listed on this guide. Additionally, there is an option to filter to choose "Peer-Reviewed" under "All Database Types" on our A-Z databases page. Not every article in these databases is peer-reviewed, but they include a large number of peer-reviewed articles and using the search limiters will help you find them.
As always, contact your Jefferson librarians if you need any assistance!
Why use this database?
Academic OneFile is a general database with peer-reviewed, full-text articles on a variety of subjects.
What you need to know:
This database is useful for anyone looking for a good starting point for general research in almost any subject area.
Why use this database?
Academic Search Complete covers a broad variety of subjects. It provides access to journals, magazines, reports, books, and videos.
What you need to know:
This is a multidisciplinary database, so searches can be conducted on a wide range of topics.
Why use this database?
EBSCOhost is the Learning Commons entire collection of EBSCOhost databases in one place.
What you need to know:
This would be useful for those who want to use EBSCOhost databases but may be unsure of which one(s) to use.
Why use this database?
ERIC stands for Education Resources Information Center. This database provides indexed and full-text education-related literature covering topics that include pedagogy, counseling, and psychology.
What you need to know:
This database is useful researching education.
Why use this database?
A database that indexes journals (articles), books (available by chapters), primary sources, and images. In addition to the many journals that the Learning Commons subscribes to, you can also use JSTOR and Artstor's open access content. At the bottom of the page, you will find a link titled “What’s in JSTOR.” One of the first links within the body of that page it to "Open and free content" which includes resources from both JSTOR and Artstor.
What you need to know:
Use JSTOR to get great results for all areas of research for any class assignment. Artstor indexes images from numerous museums and libraries, including the Art Institute of Chicago. It is a great resource for art, art history, and CAT research. Check out JSTOR Daily to see how it matches scholarly information to current topics.
