Why use Ulrich's?

• Find out if a particular journal is peer reviewed
• Find out which databases index a journal

How to use Ulrichsweb to determine if an article is in a peer-reviewed journal:

1. Ulrich's can tell you whether a journal is peer-reviewed, not individual articles (but, research articles in a peer-reviewed journal will be peer-reviewed).

2. Go to Ulrichsweb database from a GVSU link, either on a subject guide or from the database list.

3. Enter the name of the journal/magazine (not the article or author!).

4. For example, I recently found this article through PubMed database. Notice the journal title is "Pediatric Obesity" (or Pediatr Obes for short):

5. Next, go to Ulrichsweb and type in Pediatric Obesity. This is what the results look like:

6. There are 2 versions of Pediatric Obesity, print and online. In either case, there is a "refereed" symbol (red circle) next to the journal name. This means the   journal is "refereed," which is another way of saying peer-reviewed.

     NOTE: not every article in a peer-reviewed journal may be peer-reviewed; commentary, news and opinion pieces usually are not peer-reviewed.

This 3-minute video from North Carolina State University explains the peer review process and why it's important.

What is peer-review?

Peer-review is an important additional step in the publishing process for some journals.  Articles submitted to peer-reviewed journals must be reviewed by at least one expert in the field.  The reviewer is evaluating the research presented in the article.  Articles that pass the peer-review process are published in the journal; those that don't pass are not published.

How do I know if a journal is peer-reviewed (also called refereed)?

1. If you have a paper version of the journal you can look on the inside front cover to see if there is information regarding peer-review

2. Many times an editorial board will be listed on the inside front cover

3. If you are using a database and only have an electronic version of an article-you can still verify if the journal is peer-reviewed. Do a search for the journal and go to the homepage. Go to the about us section (or something similar) and you should find information about whether the journal is peer-reviewed.

How can I tell if I have a research article?

Is there a Methods and/or Materials section?  Is there a Results section?  Is there a discussion section?  Is the article testing a hypothesis?  If you answered yes to these questions, you have a research article.  If you are unsure, ask a librarian!