Video: What is a peer reviewed article?

Click on the following link to view a narrated PowerPoint presentation on what "peer review" is, what a peer-reviewed journal might include in its content, and what a peer-reviewed article looks like.

Tutorial Link: http://www.screencast.com/t/E9zqSVBqtOd (Click on the "Play" arrow to start the video.)

You need headphones to hear the audio or click on the "cc" button to view the closed captions. You can also click on the forward arrow to skip to the next slide when necessary. Adobe Flash player is required.

Related post: Video: Finding Peer Reviewed Articles in EBSCOhost.
Related post: Parts of a Journal Article

Peer-Reviewed Article Checklist

Other useful postings:

• Video: What is a Peer-Reviewed Article?
• Video: Finding Peer-Reviewed Articles in EBSCOhost
• Parts of a Research/Scholarly Journal Article - APA Style

Checklist - Here are some things to look for when attempting to determine if an article you have found is peer-reviewed:

1. If you used EBSCOhost did you limit your search to "Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals?" If you used ProQuest, did you limit your search to "Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed?"
2. Does it have more than one author listed? Although some peer-reviewed articles may have a single author it is more common for there to be multiple authors - original research takes a lot of workers!
3. Are the authors' affiliations provided at the beginning or end of the article? Their affiliation is where they work, typically a University or research institution.
4. Is the article more than 2 pages in length? You may find some peer-reviewed articles that are 3-5 pages, but it is not uncommon for them to be much longer.
5. Does the article include an abstract written by the authors? This should appear at the beginning.
6. Does the abstract include indicator words such as “the present study …. examined …measured … identified ...results indicated?” All of these tell you that this is a report on original research.
7. If you open the article does it have sections for an introduction, methods, results, discussion?
8. Are there illustrations? Research results are frequently reported with charts, graphs, tables, drawings and photographs of specimens.
9. At the end or the beginning, does it include the dates when the article was submitted and accepted for publication?
10. Are there lots of references at the end of the article? It is not uncommon for peer-reviewed articles to have several pages of references.

Video: Finding Peer Reviewed Articles in EBSCOhost

Purpose: This demo shows you how to search for peer reviewed articles in EBSCOhost's Academic Search Premier database.
Length: 5 minutes
File format: Video (mp4) -13.5MB (Needs Adobe Flash Player)
Required: Headphones or speakers to hear the audio
Related post: Video: What is a peer reviewed article?.
Related Post: Parts of a Journal Article

Start the video below and click the button in the lower right corner to view in full size.






y.y.

Types of Periodicals

Types of Periodicals

• Parts of a Research/Scholarly Journal Article - APA Style
• Gaston, M.A. (2005). Become a critical reader. Journal of Dental Hygiene, 79(3), 1. Retrieved from IngentaConnect database.
• This article articulates the benefits of reading peer-reviewed articles, compares them with articles published on trade magazines, and provides tips on critical reading. (Note: it takes some time to load, then you click on "PDF" to read the full text of the article.)
• ProQuest Handout: Scholarly Journals, Trade Publications, and Popular Magazines
• This handout compares the three different types of periodicals in a nice table format with details.
• Video: What is a Peer-Reviewed Article?
• Video: Finding Peer-Reviewed Articles in EBSCOhost
• Peer-Reviewed Article Checklist

Finding More Information about a Specific Periodical/Source Title
Example 1:

• If the title is available through EBSCO, look at the publication page. Psychology & health (You will see that this is a peer-reviewed academic journal published bimonthly by a UK publisher.)
• To find more information about the title, you can click on the "Publisher URL" link or search the internet and find the homepage of this title. (You may find out that actually this journal is published 12 times a year now. EBSCO's record reflects the journal's old frequency. It is the Official Journal of the European Health Psychology Society and is indexed in Medline. You can also find more about the aim & scope as well as its peer-review policies.)

Example 2:

• Another example is Psychology & Marketing. You can find this title using CBC Journal Finder.
• Clicking the link to the database name "ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry" will lead you to the "Publication Information" page of this journal in ProQuest.
• Click on "show all" and then the publisher "website" URL to go to the journal homepage, where you can find the "About this Journal" section on the lower left side menu.
• Click on the "Overview" link and you will find the Aims & Scope, etc. of this title.

For more information:

• IRIS Tutorial: Types of Periodicals (A tutorial for W.A. Community College students.)
• Minute Module: What's A Journal?
  This is a two-minute tutorial created by the Pennsylvania State University library which "explains the fundamental differences between journal, magazines, and newspapers, including what's being written and who's writing it." Click on the above link to go to PSU library's web page and double-click on "What's A Journal" to start the module.

updated 10/17/2012  y.y.

links updated 5/21/2013 cs

Parts of a Journal Article

Parts of a Research/Scholarly Journal Article - APA Style
Adapted from Chapter 2, section 1-13 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition
Journal articles usually are reports of empirical studies, review articles, or theoretical articles. Reports of empirical studies are reports of origina/primary research. Sometimes they appear in the "Research", or "Original Articles", or "Research Articles" section of a journal. These articles typically have the following parts:
1. Title
A simple summary of the main idea of the paper. It should identify the main topic, the variables or theoretical issues under investigation and the relationship between them. (For example, the word "Outbound" would NOT be a title for a research journal article because it is not clear what the topic of the article is, but it may be a title for a magazine or newspaper article.)

2. Name of Author(s) and Institutional Affiliation
Affiliations tell you which institution(s)/organization(s) that the author(s) belong to and it is usually where the research was conducted. It is common to have multiple authors who have collaborated on the research and the writing of the paper.
3. AbstractA brief, non-evaluative, comprehensive summary of the contents of the article.
4. IntroductionUsually the introduction describes

• What is the problem and how importance it is
• What have other researchers found out about the problem before (review of the relevant literature)
• What are the hypotheses and objectives of the study
• What are the research design and how is the design influenced by the hopotheses
• what are the theoretical and practical implications of the study

5. MethodDescribes in detail how the study was conducted. Enables the reader to evaluate the appropriateness of the methods used in the study and the reliability and validity of the results. Method usually includes the following subsections:

• Participants
• Materials
• Procedure

6. ResultsSummarizes the data collected and the statistical treatment of the data. A brief statement of the main results or findings followed by a report in sufficient detail to jusfify the conclusions. It is common to find figures and tables in this section.
7. DiscussionEvaluates and interprets the implications of the results, espeically with respect to the original hypothesis. Includes a clear statement of the support or non-support for the original hypothesis.


8. References
Lists works cited in the text of the article. Intended to get credit to the work of previous researchers and document statements made about literature. (Note: This part is almost always included at the end of a research article.)

Examples of Research/Scientific Journal Articles
Example 1: Bréban, S., Chappard, C., Jaffré, C., & Benhamou, C.. (2010). Login to Proquest to construct this search: Hypoleptinaemia in extreme body mass models: The case of international rugby players. Journal

CBC Library Catalog Tutorial: Simple Keyword Search (2014)

Tutorial Direct Link (with closed captioning): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOHgDrnhbH0&hd=1
 

Click on the Full screen icon to view the full size.

Catalog Tutorial: Subject Search 1

Tutorial Direct (Full Size) Link: http://www.screencast.com/t/aj5yfq3CR

4 minutes
file format: swf (requires Adobe Flash Player to play)



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Transcript:
One of the most effective ways to find relevant results in the catalog is searching by subject, especially when you find too many results after a simple keyword search.

Here is the detailed record of the book “Authentic happiness“. One of the important things is to look at the

Catalog Tutorial: My Account

Related Tutorial: Place Hold

Tutorial Direct (Full Size) Link: http://www.screencast.com/t/jzo46Pf2

5 minutes
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Transcript:
Hello, in this video, I am going to demo the My Account features of
the new CBC Library Catalog.

[Log In]
I can login from the catalog homepage on the right or use the link at the top right corner. I’ll login with my

Catalog Tutorial: Place Hold

Related Tutorial: My Account

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2 minutes
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Transcript:

Hello, in this video, I am going to demo how to use the Library Catalog to place a hold.
I can only place a hold on books that are currently checked out. For books that are available, I’ll have to find them on the shelf myself.

[Search]
Let’s search for the novel Private Wars. Click on “Go”. 74 results. That’s too many to look through. I’ll

Catalog Tutorial: Quick Tour

Tutorial Direct (Full Size) Link: http://www.screencast.com/t/ZK6nytd4
4:26 minutes
file format: swf (requires Adobe Flash Player to play)


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Transcript:

Hello, I am a librarian at CBC. This is a quick tour of the CBC Library catalog homepage. The Catalog is the database that you use to
find out if we have certain books, videos, or CDs. Let’s start from the CBC homepage, click on the

Scheduling Research Projects

When you are just starting out, a research assignment may seem overwhelming. It can be helpful to break your projects into smaller tasks and lay them out on your calendar. While each project is different, here are some typical tasks you may wish to include:

Evaluating Sources

Having found a bunch of information sources you need to select those that best meet your needs. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you scan your results:

Understanding Your Assignment

In order to develop an effective research strategy you need a solid understanding of your assignment. If your instructor tells the class that you will be given the research assignment on a day you know you will be absent, ask to meet with them so you can get it in advance. Ask questions, take notes, and be sure to have all this with you when you do your research. Here are some questions you can ask yourself (or your instructor!), along with some examples of how these factors might influence your research strategy:

Psychology Articles - Peer-Reviewed?

Distinguishing a psychology magazine article from a peer-reviewed psychology article

This is an example of an article from a magazine:

Ayan, Steve. "Laughing Matters." Scientific American Mind Apr. 2009: 24-31. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 May 2009 .

The author cites several studies and famous anecdotes to demonstrate the positive effects of humor on mental health, but does not report on his own original research. The magazine is intended for the educated, interested member of the general public; you don’t have to be a psychology student/professor/professional to appreciate it.

Here is a peer-reviewed article on a similar subject:

Ventis, W. Larry, Garrett Higbee, and Susan A. Murdock. "Using Humor In Systematic Desensitization To Reduce Fear." Journal Of General Psychology 128.2 (2001): 241-253. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. ABSTRACT. Effectiveness of systematic desensitization for fear reduction, using humorous hierarchy scenes without relaxation, was tested. Participants were 40 students highly fearful of spiders. Using a 24-item behavioral approach test with an American tarantula, participants were matched on fear level and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: (a) systematic desensitization, (b) humor desensitization, and (c) untreated controls. Each participant was seen for 6 sessions, including pretest and posttest. Analyses of covariance of posttest scores revealed that the 2 treatment groups showed greater reduction in fear than the controls on 3 measures but did not differ from each other. Therefore, humor in systematic desensitization reduced fear as effectively as more traditional desensitization. This finding may have therapeutic applications; however, it may also be applicable in advertising to desensitize fear of a dangerous product, such as cigarettes. Key words: advertising, behavior therapy, fear, humor [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here are several ways to distinguish it from a non-peer-reviewed article (not all will appear in absolutely every instance, but these are common):

• Multiple authors.
  
• Long (13 pages)
  
• Abstract written by the authors.
  
• Abstract includes indicator words “tested...participants...analyses..showed..this finding...” All of these tell you that this is a report on original research.
  
• If you open the article it has sections for methods, results, discussion, and references.
  
• At the beginning it notes the authors affiliations with educational institutions.