One thing that distinguishes a scientific article is that it undergoes peer review. Scientific journals where scientific articles are published have clear guidelines for what research is published and how submitted manuscripts are peer-reviewed. It is called peer review or referee review. In the database Ulrichsweb (Links to an external site.) it is possible to check which journals have been referee reviewed. The review procedure is usually also stated on the journals' websites.

In many databases, it is possible to limit the search to material from publications that have undergone peer review. However, keep in mind that even if the publication has a review procedure, only the scientific articles are reviewed. A scientific journal contains different types of material, for example material of the letter and editorial type, and these are not refereed with peer review.

Film Peer review (03:40) from Malmö University Library (Links to an external site.)

Malmö universitet. (2017, March 21). Peer review [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmZU3AxiDpo&t=4s

How do articles get peer reviewed? What role does peer review play in scholarly research and publication?

Peer Review in 3 Minutes (film 03:15) from NC State University Libraries

(Links to an external site.)Co

NC State University Libraries. (2014, May 1). Peer Review in 3 Minutes [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOCQZ7QnoN0

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