There is no difference between peer reviewed and refereed journals. Peer-reviewed journals and refereed journals are synonyms, so we can use these two words interchangeably.
Other than these two names, there are other names to refer to the same. These include ‘refereeing’, ‘refereeing process’, and ‘reviewing process’.
CONTENT
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Peer-Reviewed Journal
3. What is a Refereed Journal
4. Peer Reviewed vs Refereed Journal in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Peer-Reviewed vs Refereed Journal
What is a Peer-Reviewed Journal?
A peer-reviewed journal refers to a scholarly journal evaluated by experts with similar competencies. These experts can be the author’s peers. This method is used to improve performance, provide credibility, and maintain quality standards in articles. In this method, articles are published only if they have passed the official editorial process. Moreover, a journal’s suitability for publication depends on the peer-reviewed method. But some articles are not peer-reviewed before they are published. These include book reviews, article reviews, editorials, and news items.
Methods of Peer Reviewing Journals
- Single-blind – the author does not know the identity of the reviewer
- Double-blind – reviewer does not know the identity of the reviewer and vice versa
- Open peer review – The identity of both the author and the reviewer is known by all the participants
- Transparent peer review – the review report is posted with the published article. The reviewer can choose if they want to share their identity
- Collaborative – Two or more reviewers work together to submit a report
- Post-publication – the review solicited or unsolicited of a published paper
What You Should Do When Peer Reviewing a journal
- Read the journal thoroughly
- Justify the recommendations with evidence and examples
- Be specific
- Be professional and respectful
- Appreciate the positive points in the manuscript
What You Should Avoid When Peer Reviewing A Journal
- Focus on grammar and typing mistakes
- Submit the review without rechecking it
- Mention the reviewer’s hypothesis
- Suggest elements or experiments that are out of the scope of the research area
- Mention the author the way to revise his manuscript
How to Identify Whether an Article is Peer-Reviewed or Not
- Printed journal articles – Check the publication information in the front of the journal.
- Electronic journal articles – Check the journal home page and check for a link to ‘About this journal’ or ‘Notes for Authors’. There, it is mentioned if the articles are peer-reviewed.
Qualities of a Refereed/Peer-Reviewed Article
- Audience – scholarly audience like other researchers, colleagues, and specialists in the same field
- Authors – may have several authors
- Language – formal, generally do not use the first person
- Length – typically ten to fifty pages long, but this may vary
- Topic-specific and relate to a particular field
What is a Refereed Journal?
A refereed journal is another name to refer to peer-reviewed articles. These articles are reviewed by experts in the same field before publishing.
What is the Difference Between Peer Reviewed and Refereed Journal?
There is no difference between peer-reviewed and refereed journals. Both names are used for articles that are checked by the experts (peers) before publishing.
Summary – Peer-Reviewed vs Refereed Journal
In brief, there is no difference between peer reviewed and refereed journals. A peer-reviewed journal refers to a scholarly journal evaluated by experts with similar competencies. A journal’s suitability is decided through peer-reviewing or referring. This method is used to improve performance, provide credibility, and maintain quality standards in articles. But usually, articles such as news items, book reviews, article reviews and editorials are not peer-reviewed or refereed.
Reference:
1. “Peer Reviewed or Refereed Scholarly Journals.” UCF Research Guides.
2. “Peer Review.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Sept. 2021.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Scientific Review” By Center for Scientific Review [2] – From Center for Scientific Review [1], part of the NIH (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia