Articles in peer-reviewed or scholarly journals almost always report original research. The article will usually have these elements:
- Author(s) credentials or academic affiliation
- A lengthy abstract
- Report on the research methodology
- Conclusion or results of the research
- Footnotes or in-text references
- A lengthy bibliography
Is everything peer-reviewed in a Peer-Reviewed Journal?
Not all items that appear in peer reviewed journals are actually peer reviewed. Articles that require a certain level of scholarly effort such as research studies, experiments and literature reviews are peer reviewed. Items appearing in peer reviewed journals that are not peer reviewed are;
- Letters to the editor
- Opinion pieces
- Book reviews
- Commentaries
- Introductions
Keep that in mind when you limit your search to peer review. The results list may contain some of the above items that are not peer reviewed. Make sure you check what type of item you are looking at before you assume it is peer reviewed simply because it appears in a peer reviewed journal.