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ANTH 130: Archaeology Lessons From the Past

Source Types & Access

In academic journals, you will mostly find peer-reviewed research articles, however you may also see articles within the journal that are not peer-reviewed. Most databases will provide you with an option to select Peer-Reviewed Journals; some provide a second filter to select just peer-reviewed original research articles.

Smart than the Filter. NCSU Libraries (3:30)

Original Research Article - Most often in peer reviewed journals, original research articles report on the findings of a researcher's work. They will include a description of how the research was done and what the results mean.

Review articles - These are peer-reviewed articles, that synthesize numerous original research articles within a particular sub-field. Review articles can be extremely useful in obtaining background information and the state of research on a specific topic.  

Editorials/Opinion/Commentary/Perspectives – Articles expressing the author's view on a particular issue. These can be researched and include citations to peer-reviewed literature, or more simple without citations. These are not peer reviewed.

Brief Communications or News – News articles can be found in a wide variety of publications.  Popular newspapers and magazines, trade publications and scholarly publications can all have science news articles. These often refer to a recent study published as an original research article. 

IS YOUR ARTICLE AN ORIGINAL, PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE?

  • Does the article have an abstract?
  • Does the article have a materials and methods section?
  • Are there references? Are they cited in the article?
  • Who is the intended audience? How can you tell?
  • What are the author’s/authors’ credentials and association?
  • Does the article present original research or is it a review?
  • Does the article indicate when it was submitted for publication and when it was accepted?

CLUES THE JOURNAL USES PEER REVIEW

One of the best places to find out if a journal is peer-reviewed is to go to the journal's website (just Google the journal title).

Most publishers have a website for a journal that tells you about the journal, how authors can submit an article, and what the process is for getting published.

On the journal's website, look for an about section or link that says "information for authors,"  "submitting an article" or something similar. Then look for the term "peer-reviewed."

Adapted from, “BHS 110 Orientation: Types Of Scholarly Sources” by Oregon State University Libraries & Press, used under CC BY-NC 4.0. Information.

Please reach out if you have any questions!

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Elizabeth Salmon

Social Science Librarian

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Main Library Rm. 117

(845) 437-5767

Subjects:Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Urban Studies

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