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Library Research Guide

This guide will help MSU students get started with research using the MSU Library resources.

What is Peer Review?

Peer reviewed sources have other experts in the field review articles prior to publication, to ensure it's credible.

In a blind peer-review, reviewers know the author's name.  In a double-blind peer-review, neither the author(s) nor the reviewers know the identities of the others. To find the level of peer-review of a particular journal, one usually needs to refer to the editorial statement of that journal.

To find peer-reviewed articles (also called referred journals), use filters in the library databases to limit to peer reviewed sources. If you found a source and want to check if it is peer reviewed, paste the title into the CatSearch box on the library homepage, and it will show a purple icon if it is peer reviewed.