Very simply an article is peer reviewed if it has been read and scrutinized by scholars or other researchers in the field prior to publication. Think of it as quality control for research and publication.
The article and the journal where it is published also meet certain research and publishing standards for that particular discipline
Other terms for peer reviewed are refereed or juried.
Here are some general characteristics that usually apply to peer reviewed journals and their articles:
Is it peer reviewed? How do you know? We have a few ways to sort your results, or identify if your specific result is peer reviewed.
1. Sort your results: Most of our databases have a feature that allows you to limit or refine your search results to only those that are peer-reviewed. Look for that option on the search screen. Pro tip: some database providers have a more lenient definition of peer reviewed, if you're not sure check with a librarian or your professor.
2. I'm not sure if this article or journal is peer reviewed:
You can look up the journal by title or ISSN number in Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory. Once you locate the journal, Ulrich's will tell you, by having an image of a referee shirt or not, if a journal is peer reviewed or not. Below, you can see that the first result is not peer reviewed and the second through fourth are peer reviewed.
Popular magazines are those that are published with the general reader in mind. The articles generally assume no prior knowledge on the part of the reader and are written by journalists or editors. The goal may be to inform, entertain or persuade the reader.
Popular Magazines may have lots of pictures and they will have advertisements.
Some examples:
