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Scholarly journals are generally published by subject matter experts for other subject matter professions/experts. A publication is considered to be peer reviewed if its articles go through an official editorial process. Before the article is published in the journal, it involves review and approval by the author’s peers (people who are experts in the same subject area) in order to ensure the article’s quality. Articles in scholarly journals present new, previously unpublished research. Scholarly sources will almost always include:

• Bibliography and footnotes
• Author’s name and academic credentials

Use scholarly journals for highly focused original research.

Searching Cerritos College Library databases for Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:

• EBSCO Academic Search Complete is an example of a Cerritos College Library database which allows you to limit searches for articles to peer reviewed journals only.

Within the EBSCO database interface, search queries can be limited to Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals only under the Limit Your Results section. Several EBSCO Databases contain Scholarly peer-reviewed articles.

• JSTOR is an example of a Cerritos College Library database which includes peer reviewed journals. Nearly all of the journals collected in JSTOR are peer-reviewed publications with the exception of some primary materials in the collection. Currently, there is no way to search JSTOR for only peer-reviewed publications specifically.  

• GenderWatch ProQuest's full-text collection of publications that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas. Includes academic and scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, booklets, and government and non-governmental organization special reports.  

• Project Muse Provides access to the full-text to more than 180 scholarly and peer-reviewed journal titles in history, literature, philosophy, religion, theater, music and film, among others.