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Article Indexes and Databases

Is a Journal Refereed?

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Many scholarly journals use a process of peer review to determine which articles are deserving of publication. Each article is reviewed by at least two other experts or peers in the discipline. These experts comment on the validity of the methodology and findings, and the value of the paper to the discipline. Articles from journals using peer review, also known as refereed journals, have a reputation for high quality due to this evaluation process. 

One way to determine if a journal is refereed is to search in a database that includes a limit, or filter, for peer-reviewed journals. This involves the index or database producer receiving the information from the publisher of the journal and including that information in the database records.  Click here for another method.

Following is a list of web delivered indexes with notes about whether or not the index indicates that a particular journal is peer reviewed or refereed and if it does, how you invoke that limiter. This list does not include index/database titles for which refereeing is not appropriate such as "Books in Print" or newspaper indexes.

| A | B | C-D | E | F | G | H | I | J-K | L | M | N | O | P-Q | R | S | T | U-V | W-X-Y-Z |

Searching for Refereed Journals in Article Indexes
Index Title Peer Review Indicated Notes
ABI/ INFORM Complete Yes Click on box preceding "Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed"
ABI/ INFORM Dateline Yes Click on box preceding "Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed"
ABI/ INFORM Global Yes Click on box preceding "Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed"
ABI/ INFORM Trade & Industry Yes Click on box preceding "Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed"
Academic OneFile Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search
ACM Digital Library No  
ACS Publications (chemistry) No  
Agricola No  
Alternative press index  No  
America, history and life No  
Anthropological index online  No  
AnthroSource No  
Applied Science and Technology Index Yes Type the search term in one "search for" box. Type "Peer-reviewed journal" in another "search for" box and select "Reviewed Journal Phrase" from the drop down menu.
ArXiv e-Print archive No  
 Art Abstracts Yes Type the search term in one search box. Type "Peer-reviewed journal" in another search box and select "Reviewed Journal Phrase" from the drop down menu.
ARTbibliographies Modern No   
ArticleFirst (All subjects) No   
Arts & Humanities Citation Index No  
Basque Database No   
 Bibliography of the History of Art No   
Biography index  No  
Biological Abstracts No  
Biological & Agricultural Index Yes Type the search term in one "search for" box. Type "Peer-reviewed journal" in another "search for" box and select "Reviewed Journal Phrase" from the drop down menu.
BookNews Online No  
Book review digest (All subjects) No  
Business and Company ASAP Yes To refereed publications
Business & Company Resource Center Yes In results, click on Articles tab.
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications No  
CCH Internet Tax research network No  
Checkpoint (Accountancy, Taxation) No
CINAHL Yes In "Refine Search" box, "Journal Subset" box, select "Peer reviewed"
Cochrane Library (Medicine) No  
ComAbstracts (Communications) No  
Communication & Mass Media Complete Yes Check box in "Refine Search" box.
Communication Studies: A SAGE full-text collection No  
Compendex & Inspec (Engineering & physics) No  
Computer Database Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search
Contemporary women's issues No
Criminal justice abstracts No  
Criminal justice periodicals Yes All search screens (basic, advanced, guided) use a check box 
Criminology: A SAGE full-text collection No  
EconLit No  
Education: A SAGE full-text collection No  
Education Full Text Yes Check box in Advanced search.
eHRAF archaeology No  
eHRAF world cultures (collection of ethnography) No  
elibrary elementary No
ERIC (U.S. Dept. of Education) No
ERIC via FirstSearch (Education)  No  
Expanded Academic ASAP Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
Family & Society Studies Worldwide No
Fed in print (Business) No  
General BusinessFile ASAP Yes  
General Reference Center Gold Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
GEOBASE (geography) No  
GeoRef (Geology) No  
GeoScience World No  
Google Scholar No  
Government Periodicals Universe No  
Health Reference Center Academic Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
Health Sciences: A SAGE full-text collection No  
Historical abstracts No  
Human Resources Library No  
IEEE Xplore (Engineering) No  
Index to legal periodicals & books Yes Select "reviewed journal phrase" from menu.  Type in "peer-reviewed journal" as a search term.
Informe Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Agriculture Collection Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Communication and Mass Media Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Criminal Justice Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Diversity Studies Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Educators Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Environmental Issues & Policy Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Garden, Landscape & Horticulture Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac General Science Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac GLBT Life & Issues Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Information Science & Library Issues Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Insurance & Liability Collection Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Nursing & Allied Health Collection Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac OneFile Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Collection Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Pop Culture Collection Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Psychology Collection Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Religion and Philosophy Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Tourism, Hospitality & Leisure Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac US History Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac Vocation, Careers & Technical Education Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac War & Terrorism Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
InfoTrac World History Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
IngentaConnect (All Subjects) No
INSPEC (physics & engineering) No  
IoP electronic journals (physics) No  
Iter Bibliography No
Iter Italicum No
JSTOR: The scholarly archive No  
LegalTrac Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
LexisNexis Government Periodicals Index No  
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts Yes Check box in "Refine Search" box
Library literature Yes Type the search term in  "search for" box. Type "Peer-reviewed journal" in another "search for" box and select "Reviewed Journal Phrase" from the drop down menu.
Library of Sport, Coaching & Physical Education No  
Management & Organization Studies: A SAGE full-text collection No  
Materials Science: A SAGE full-text collection No  
MathSciNet (Mathematics)  No  
MEDLINE via First Search (medicine) No  
Military & Intelligence Database Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
MLA International Bibliography (Literature) Yes Click "advanced search tab". Near the middle of the page, check box labeled "peer reviewed".
Music Index online No  
NCJRS abstracts database (Criminal justice) No  
NCJRS abstracts publications (Criminal justice) No  
PAIS international (Public affairs)   No  
PapersFirst (all subjects) No
Political Science: A SAGE full-text collection No  
Pollution Abstracts Yes Far right box, use drop down menu, choose "peer-reviewed".
ProceedingsFirst (all subjects) No
Project Euclid No  
Project Muse No Every journal indexed in the collection is peer reviewed.
Psychology: A SAGE full-text collection No  
PsycINFO (Psychology)  Yes In the box labeled "document type phrase" select "peer reviewed article."
Publications Warehouse (Geology) No  
Readers' guide abstracts (All subjects) Yes In "search for" box type "peer-reviewed journal."  From the drop down menu choose "reviewed journal phrase."
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature No  
Science Citation index expanded No  
Science Direct Elsevier No
SciFinder Scholar (chemistry) No  
Sea Grant Publication search No  
Social Sciences Citation Index No  
Social Services Abstracts No  
Social Work Abstracts No  
Sociological Abstracts  No  
Sociology: A SAGE full-text collection No  
SPORTDiscus  Yes In "refine search" box, from box labeled "database subset" choose "peer reviewed or refereed" from the drop down menu.
Tax Analysts Web Services No  
Teacher Reference Center Yes  
Thomson Gale Powersearch Yes Click "More Search Options" or Advanced Search.
Ulrich's international periodicals directory Yes Search for title; uses an icon to the left of the title to indicate peer reviewed. Useful for verifying periodical titles within databases that do not provide a limiter for peer reviewed or refereed journals.
Urban Studies & Planning: A SAGE full-text collection No  
Web of Science No  
WestLaw No  
Worldwide political science abstracts No  

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Page Content: Janet Strong, 5/31/06
Page Creator: Beth Brin, 208-426-3136 Albertsons Library, Boise State University;
This page last modified: 02/06/08 12:16 PM
http://library.boisestate.edu/reference/refereed.htm

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