Peer reviewed journals
What is a peer reviewed journal?
Journal articles are the primary medium for scholarly communication. They account for a large percentage of reported research output from universities. When articles are reviewed and approved by experts in the field they are published in journals defined as peer reviewed. There are different levels of peer review for example some journals use an editorial peer review (editorial board), peer review by experts in the field, and blind peer review by experts in the field.
... the term peer review is used to describe a number of processes, most commonly gathering opinions from external experts, but also review by in-house editors and that it may not always be possible to make a clear distinction between peer review and technical editing (Jefferson, T, Wager E, Davidoff, F 2002, 'Measuring the quality of editorial peer review', Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 287, no 21, pp.2786-2790)
Some definitions of peer reviewed are:
A scholarly or research publication in which the articles submitted for publication are evaluated by individuals who are expert in the subject area. (Keenan, S & Johnston, C 2002, 2nd edn, Concise dictionary of library and information science, Bowker Saur, London)
A process that articles in many journals go through before they are published. Once an article is submitted for publication, it is sent to an editorial board comprised of experts in the field to be evaluated. The submitted article must receive the approval of the editorial board before it is published. The editorial board is usually identified at the beginning of each issue of a journal. (Glossary of library terms, Amberton University, viewed 10 May 2006, www.amberton.edu/Library/ResearchHelp/LibraryTerms.aspx)
Note that the words “peer reviewed” and “refereed” are often used interchangeably and so for the purpose of this workshop the phrase “peer reviewed” will be used to imply both terms.
Why publish in peer reviewed journals?
If you publish in high quality journals then your research may also be regarded as high quality. Therefore it is good for your reputation and your career. There is nothing wrong with submitting to non peer reviewed publications however why not try peer reviewed titles first. You will receive useful feedback which you can use to refine your article and either resubmit or submit to other sources.
For further information about publishing and peer reviewed journals see these pages from the University of South Australia:
How to identify and locate a peer reviewed journal
The flowchart shows two possible scenarios: