Family Studies 362: Journals

Peer-reviewed journals (also called "scholarly" or "academic" journals) contain original research articles within a specific subject domain.

These articles are reviewed by other experts before publication and share many or all of these qualities:

• List authors' names, email addresses, and affiliations (e.g. Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney)
• Use section headers (these may vary): Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion
• Include tables or figures of statistical data
• Cite references to other quality sources

Here are two examples:

• Qualitative study in social work
• Quantitative study in sociology

NOTE: Some peer-reviewed journals will include literature reviews, book reviews, and opinion essays. None of these present original research however!

This table summarizes the differences between peer-reviewed journals and other periodicals, but please ask a librarian if you have further questions!

Based on the criteria listed above, which of the following articles would qualify as peer-reviewed research?

1. "How Preschool Fights Poverty"
   http://tinyurl.com/oos8dps
2. "Dignity and Dreams"
   http://tinyurl.com/pylbayh
3. "Getting to Alignment of Good Practice and Financing of Child Welfare"
   http://tinyurl.com/q72vl6p
4. "Welfare Reform and Reducing Teen Pregnancy"
   http://tinyurl.com/o3jwooo

Know the title of the journal, magazine, or newspaper you're looking for? Use this search form to locate these online or in print through the UNK Library.

Example: Journal of Social Issues

Watch this video to learn how to locate full-text articles from a database citation.