- Peer review describes a process for examining and evaluating primary research.
- Academic is a more general term that can refer to journals that publish peer-reviewed articles, but may also refer to books published by university presses.
How does peer review work?
A journal has a group of experts (peers) check submitted primary research articles for problems in accuracy, logic, methodology, etc. The author receives feedback and may be able to make corrections, or the article may be rejected. If the research is original, valuable, and meets the scope of the journal, it is published. Authors are not paid, as in commercial magazines or "trade journals."
Are all articles in an academic journal peer-reviewed research articles?
No. Journals also publish other items. Some article types are listed below. While these articles can be very important and reputable, they cannot be considered primary research articles undergoing peer-review. If you have access to our databases (on-campus or off-campus with your MyID), click for examples.
- Information/Opinion Column: Gives advice and information. Often targeted to clinicians. Usually in first person (ex: I noted that...)
- Book review/essay: Much longer than popular books reviews, they usually compare similar works, and contain a detailed bibliography -- example
- Literature review: Surveys research done in a field, drawing conclusions and anticipating trends but does not give detailed methodology or data on any one research project -- example
- Reader Letters/Response Articles/Errata: Sometimes people respond to an article published in a previous issue. These may be informal letters, or they may be very structured debates that cite other literature. There may be cases in which someone reports an error or corrects misprints of data. A letter may also describe recent research, but the letter has not gone through the peer review process -- example
