Political Science

Peer Reviewed Articles

Peer reviewed or refereed articles refers to a process Scholarly articles undergo. If an article is peer reviewed or refereed; it has undergone a review by a peer of the author. The peer has an educational and/or professional background similar to the author; this means the peer has the necessary knowledge and/or experience to evaluate the information found in the scholarly article. For example, a librarian could peer review an article for a library journal written by another librarian.

Many databases, such as those from ProQuest and EBSCOhost, allow you to limit your searches to refereed or scholarly publications. If the publication does not state if articles are peer reviewed or refereed, one can check resources at the Information Desk or online. These resources list publications (popular, scholarly, trade) and provide information on publishing, including if the publication peer reviews the articles.

Popular Press Articles

Popular Sources provide general, basic information. These sources usually cover current events and "hot" topics. The goal of popular sources is to appeal and entertain a wide audience.

Popular press articles are those writings which are written by experts or scholars about some certain aspect of society, science, technology or any other topic. These are just opinion papers and sometimes a subjective approach has been presented by the writer. There are, though, some articles which may present facts and factual data, research report and studies or some analysis of the particular subject but it is not reviewed, criticized and approved by some reviewer who is an authority in that particular field. These articles are rather view points or studies which are not verified by any authority, a scholar or institute.

Difference between Popular and Peer-Reviewed Articles

As the very name suggests that popular press papers are written for popular masses. The language and style of these articles is very simple and a common reader can very well understand the content and matter of the article once he reads it. Also, the facts and figures presented in the paper might not present the true account of that subject or topic on which it is written and every body can challenge its credibility.

On the other hand, peer reviewed articles are written for a specific quarter of society who understand the language, terminology and style of the paper. An average common reader may not be able to understand the language and terminology of the paper.

A peer reviewed article ...