Essentially, peer review is an academic term for quality control. Each article published in a peer-reviewed journal has been closely examined by a panel of reviewers who are experts on the topic. Peer-reviewed publications are produced specifically for academics, scholars and professionals, unlike popular magazines found in newsagents and supermarkets.
Peer-reviewed articles usually contain key section headings like these:
- Abstract and keywords
- Introduction and statement of the problem
- Review of the literature
- Methodology
- Data Collection
- Analysis
- Conclusions and recommendations
- References
You can use Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory to check whether a journal is peer-reviewed.