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Social Work Research Guide

Overview of how to get started with research and sources for finding basic information.

Look for the IMRaD elements in Peer-Reviewed Articles

Primary research (also called research articles)

  • Contain firsthand information or original data on a topic that is not interpreted, evaluated, or analyzed. 
  • Typically include these headings/sections in the body of the article: 
    Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (known as the IMRaD format), or similar sections.
  • Are always peer-reviewed (i.e., article was critically evaluated by experts in the field before accepted for publication) except for some exceptions (e.g., non-peer reviewed conference proceedings).

How to Identify Peer-reviewed ARTICLES

"Scholarly Sources" Umbrella & Variation of Article Types

Finding if a Journal is Peer-reviewed

One definitive way to determine if a journal is peer-reviewed is when this is acknowledged in the journal itself. For example, frequently include instruction for authors will use the phrase "peer reviewed."  Others will say that manuscripts are sent for blind review, reviewed by a committee, or anonymously reviewed.  Therefore, it is worthwhile to visit the journal publisher's official website and review the journal's review process and journal description/scope.

There are other ways to identify a peer-reviewed journal.  Below are some tools to help us identify whether a journal is peer-reviewed:

1) Ulrich's Periodicals Directory includes information about whether the journal is peer-reviewed (or refereed).  The print (paper) edition of Ulrich's is found in the Bierce Library. 

2) Research Databases:  Some databases allow users to limit a search to peer-reviewed journals.  For example, CINAHL allows users to limit a search to peer-reviewed journals and indicates that an article is peer reviewed in the Journal Subset field, when appropriate.  Note: Scholarly articles is the umbrella term for academic articles. All peer-reviewed articles are scholarly/academic journals but not all scholarly/academic journals are peer-reviewed.  Authors of peer-reviewed articles go to a more rigorous process of evaluation than when writing in non-peer reviewed journals.

How to Identify Peer-reviewed JOURNALS

Determining if an article is peer-reviewed

How do I know if it is Peer Reviewed?