A refereed journal, or peer reviewed journal, is a specific type of publication that meets the high standards and rigor expected with academic publishing. Refereed articles within the journal have been reviewed by a blind editorial panel for rigor in research and appropriateness of conclusions.
Refereed sources enable you to start with the assumption that the information within is vetted, reducing the need to evaluate how factual and accurate the article is.
Most refereed articles contain the following sections. Some include all, others combine some, and yet other articles might include only a few. Look for these sections when judging whether an article is scholarly.
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Most refereed articles can be identified by the qualities you note throughout the writing. Here are a few to look for:
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