What is the Peer Review Process and Why it Matters?
According to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, "peer review is the critical assessment of manuscripts submitted to journals by experts who are usually not part of the editorial staff. Because unbiased, independent, critical assessment is an intrinsic part of all scholarly work, including scientific research, peer review is an important extension of the scientific process." (ICMJE, 2017)
When searching the literature, be sure to choose peer-reviewed publications. The peer review process gives articles more authority. Keep in mind that not every item indexed in a peer-reviewed journal is an article (e.g. book reviews, letters).
Note the scholarly/academic publications below. Please note that not all scholarly publications include peer-reviewed articles.
Scholarly Journal Trade/Professional Magazines and Journals
Nursing2016 (currently Nursing2017) is a peer-reviewed journal containing some peer-reviewed articles. The other trade/professional publications will likely not include peer-reviewed articles.
When trying to determine if an article would be considered "scholarly," look at the following characteristics: