subject is mental illness** Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is for students to 1) identify and learn about a topic in American Popular Culture that is of interest to them; 2) become famil

Finding Peer-reviewed or Refereed Journals

Description and Purpose

Most scholarly journals are peer-reviewed (or refereed) publications, which means articles in them must be evaluated and approved by a panel of experts in the author’s field or specialty before they can be published. Unlike articles in popular magazines, newspapers, blogs, and ezines, which are mainly written by reporters or lay people for a general audience, articles in peer-reviewed journals are written by scholars or researchers for specialists or students in particular fields of study. Peer-reviewed journal articles are usually more in-depth in their coverage of a topic and cite sources used (footnotes, references lists, etc.). The review process helps ensure that the published articles reflect solid scholarship in their fields. These articles have higher quality academic information than articles from magazines, newspapers, or information found on most Web pages. Examples of peer-reviewed journals include:

• JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association

• Journal of Accountancy

• Journal of Animal Science

• Rural Sociology

Peer-Reviewed Journals versus Scholarly Journals

Scholarly journals contain articles written by, and addressed to, experts in a discipline. They are concerned with academic study, especially research, and demonstrate the methods and concerns of scholars. The main purpose of a scholarly journal is to report original research or experimentation and to communicate this information to the rest of the scholarly world. The language of scholarly journals reflects the discipline covered, as it assumes some knowledge or background on the part of the reader. Scholarly journals always rigorously cite their sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies. Many scholarly journals are published by professional organizations.

While not all scholarly journals go through the peer-review process, it is usually safe to assume that a peer-reviewed journal is also scholarly.

Why is it important to distinguish between peer-reviewed and popular articles?

Research gains credibility and respect when it demonstrates review of other scholarly literature and an examination of both primary and secondary source (see below).  Peer reviewed articles are ranked with greater authority and significance and, although highly specialized, are generally considered to have an objective or neutral viewpoint.  Peer reviewed articles are written by experts in the field and are often based on empirical studies.
Popular magazines offer editorial opinions, general discussion, current topics, graphics, photography, media, and advertisements.  Popular articles may be primary sources if they tell a first hand account or present original reporting; however, they may also reflect the editorial bias of the magazine.

Primary Sources.
Primary sources are original materials, created at the time of an event or soon thereafter.  They are usually created by those who saw an event or collected data themselves.  They are often one-of-a-kind or rare sources and present original thinking, new discoveries or new information.  Sometimes, primary sources may be reports of an event from the same time period. 

Finding Peer-Reviewed Journals and Journal Articles

There is no comprehensive source for identifying all peer-reviewed journals. To help determine if a particular journal is peer-reviewed, refer to the journal itself (either to an individual issue of the journal or to the publisher's web site) or to Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory (volume 5 of Ulrich's lists the major peer-reviewed journals within ulrichsweb.com). There are also some online lists of peer-reviewed journals, though none of them are comprehensive.

Sociology Journals
http://www.dmoz.org/Science/Social_Sciences/Sociology/Journals/

Gender and Sexuality Arena
http://www.gender-and-sexuality-arena.com/journals/

PAIS International Peer Reviewed Journal List http://www.csa.com/factsheets/supplements/paispeer.php

You may ask a reference librarian for help in finding peer-reviewed journals.

The Articles & Databases section of our online library offer digitized (i.e. electronic) versions of journals and magazines, and they have begun to flag the peer-reviewed journals so they can be searched in the database.

Finding Peer-Review Journal Articles

Instructions:

• From class, select Library in the upper right corner

  • Or use the following link: http://www.apus.edu/Online-Library/index.htm

• Click on Articles & Databases

  • Or use the following link: http://www.apus.edu/Online-Library/articles/index.htm

Following is a list of databases offering peer-reviewed journal searching.

General Library & Topics

Ebsco Suite – recommend Academic Search Premier; although the other databases may be useful for your topic

• • Click “Search Options”, then put a check next to “ Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals”

ProQuest Suite – multiple database options

• • Put a check next to “Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed”

Special Topics

Elsevier Health & Life Science – click on Social Science in the left men column

• • Click ‘Search’ in upper tabs; Make sure ‘Journals’ tab is highlighted green; Highlight Subject: Social Sciences; Put a check next to Article

JSTOR – Archives, II & III –

• • Click Advanced Settings; Under Type, put a check next to “Article;” under Discipline, scroll down to the bottom and put a check next to Sociology (note: other disciplines may prove helpful to your topic, but be sure to maintain a sociological perspective)

PsycArticles – useful for social science searches, but be critical of what discipline an article is based in (i.e. is it sociology?)

• • Click “Advanced Search” tab; Under Limited to puth a check next to “Journal Articles Only;” next to Publication Type, type in “Peer Reviewed Journal”

Finding Peer-Review Journals

Searches for peer-reviewed articles may also be done by going straight to the peer-reviewed journal. To do this:

• From class, select Library in the upper right corner

  • Or use the following link: http://www.apus.edu/Online-Library/index.htm

• Click on Articles & Databases

  • Or use the following link: http://www.apus.edu/Online-Library/articles/index.htm

• Click on “Journal Title Search”

  • Or use the following link: http://yw6vq3kb9d.search.serialssolutions.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/

List of Sociology Journals to which APUS has access:

Ageing and Society

American Journal of Health Behavior

American Sociological Review

Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy

Annual Review of Sociology

Anthropology & Education Quarterly

Berkeley Journal of Gender, Laaw & Justice

The British Journal of Sociology

British Journal of Sociology of Education

Business Society

Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science

Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality

Canadian Journal of Sociology

Canadian Review of Sociology

Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology

Children & Society

Chinese Sociology and Anthropology

Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the United

States

Comparative Studies in Society and History

Contemporary Sexuality

Contemporary Sociology

Criminal Behavior and Mental Health

Criminal Justice Review

Crime, Law and Social Change

Crime, Media, Culture

Critical Studies in Education

Culture, Health & Sexuality

Culture Counts: The Influence of Culture and Society on

Mental Health, Mental Illness

Culture, Society & Praxis

Culture, Sport, Society

Death Studies

Deviant Behavior

Disability & Society

Ecology & Society

Economic Sociology

Education and Culture

Ethnic & Racial Studies

Ethnicity & Health

Ethnicity & Race in a Changing World: A Review Journal

European Journal of Social Psychology

Europe Journal of Sociology

Families in Society

The Family Coordinator

The Family Life Coordinator

Family Relations

Feminist Criminology

Feminist Economics

Feminist Issues

Feminist Studies

Gender & Education

Gender & Society

Gender Issues

Gender Medicine

Gender, Place and Culture: a Journal of Feminist Geography

Health Sociology Review

Human Ecology

International Criminal Justice Review

International Journal of Japanese Sociology: IJJS

International Journal of Social Research Methodology

International Journal of Social Sciences

International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

International Review of Music Aesthetics and Sociology

International Review of Social History

International Social Science Review

Irish Journal of Sociology

Journal for Interdisciplinary Research on Religion and Science

Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture

Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation

Journal of Death and Dying

Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion

Journal of Gender Studies

Journal of Gender, Race and Justice

Journal of Health and Social Behavior

Journal of Health & Social Policies

Journal of Interdisciplinary Feminist Thought

Journal of Law and Society

Journal of Law in Society

Journal of Marriage and the Family

Journal of Men’s Health & Gender

Journal of Men, Masculinities, and Spirituality

Journal of Palestine Studies

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Journal of Political & Military Sociology

Journal of Politics & Society

Journal of Religion

Journal of Religion and Health

Journal of Religion and Popular Culture

Journal of Religion & Society

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

Journal of Socio-economics

Journal of Social, Evolutionary & Cultural Psychology

Journal of Social Forces

Journal of Social Issues

Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies

Journal of Social Psychology

Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture

Journal of Women and Religion

Journal of Women’s Health & Gender-based Medicine

Knowledge in Society

Medical Sociology Online

Mental Health: Culture, race and ethnicity

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

Method & Theory in the Study of Religion

Mid-American Review of Sociology

Netherlands Journal of Sociology

Organization & Environment

Political Behavior

Qualitative Sociology

Qualitative Sociology Review

Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis in Social Sciences

Race, Ethnicity and Education

Radical Society: Review of Culture & Politics

Religion and American Culture

Religion & Society Report

Religion, State & Society

Research and Practice in Social Sciences

Research Journal of Social Sciences

Rural Sociology

Science & Society

Sexuality & Culture

Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society

Social Analysis

Social Forces

Social Indicators Research

Social Justice

Social Justice Research

Social Movement Studies

Social Problems

Social Psychology

Social Psychology Quarterly

Social Research

Social Studies of Science

Social Theory & Health

Social Theory & Practice

Social Thought & Research

Social Work

Social Work & Society

Society

Society in Transition

Society Now

Socio-economic Review

Sociological Forum

Sociological Methodology

Sociological Perspectives

The Sociological Quarterly

Sociological Theory

Sociology of Education

Sociology of Health & Illness

Sociology of Religion

Sociology of Sport Journal

South African Review of Sociology

Southern Rural Sociology

Sport, Education and Society

Sport in Society

Surveillance & Society

Studies in Gender and Sexuality

Theology & Sexuality

Theory & Society

Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society

Finding peer-reviewed journal articles at APUS