It's exactly what it sounds like! Some scholarly publications send articles out to their peers (fellow researchers in their field) to review (check and verify) an article before it is published. This process is sometimes called refereed.
Image created by Tessa Withorn, Carolyn Caffrey, and Dana Ospina at the CSUDH
The peer review process has many flaws, such as publishers exploiting authors and reviewers who are not paid for their work, a lack of transparency that can perpetuate biases and suppress dialog, and it is a very slow process that can prevent university professors from achieving tenure and promotion.
Peer review perpetuates a cycle of only valuing information deemed acceptable by those in power. The authors and reviewers have had the privilege of access to higher education. Only a few people determine what is being researched and what research is shared and valued.
This does not mean peer reviewed publications are full of bad information. It is still considered the gold standard of scholarly literature and contains well-researched information. When you are researching, think about what information is being left out of the scholarly conversation and where it might be found.
In Library Search, all peer-reviewed journals are marked with a purple eye and book icon.
Peer reviewed journals usually contain sections of articles that are not peer reviewed. These are usually book reviews, news within the field, obituaries, or other general announcements. While these may contain helpful information for you to get started on a search, they are not peer reviewed and usually not accepted as a source for your research project.
These types of articles are identified by their length and lack of references. If it is only a few pages long and doesn't list any sources for where the authors found their information, it is probably not a peer reviewed article.
TLDR; The journal can be peer reviewed, but not all articles within it are peer reviewed.
Are these articles from peer review journals?
Are they peer reviewed articles?
How do you know?
Highlight the text below to see the answers:
Projection Design for Theatre and Live Performance
The journal is peer reviewed (has purple icon) but the article is just a review of a new book. It does not have any references and was probably only edited for style and clarity.
Equity Implications of Paying College Athletes
This journal is not peer reviewed (no purple icon and does not say it is peer reviewed in Ulrich's Web) but the article is an in-depth argument in favor making changes to Title IX and provides references. While this is good academic information, it is not a peer reviewed journal article.
Examining the Ability of Title IX to Provide Equitable Participation Opportunities for Black Women College Athletes
This is a peer reviewed journal (has purple icon), the article is more than a page or two, and it has a list of references at the end. This is a peer reviewed article.