Q. How do I tell if a journal is peer-reviewed?

There is no one source for this information, nor are there universal standards. 

Check a journal's website for editorial information or ask the publisher if you have questions about a specific journal. Please note that individual publishers may define "peer-reviewed" in different ways.

To limit to peer-reviewed in CINAHL (and a few other EBSCO databases), go to Advanced Search and check the Peer Reviewed box under Limit your results. In MGH OneSearch, the limit is identified as Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals. 

EBSCO Information Services' definition of peer reviewed: What are Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) publications?

To limit to peer-reviewed in the PsycINFO (Ovid) database, click Edit Limits. From the Publication Types list, select Peer-Reviewed Journal.

The rest of the Ovid databases and PubMed@MGH do not have a way to limit to peer-reviewed journals.

The Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section of the Medical Library Association maintains a spreadsheet with various information about selected nursing journals. Click the link for NAHRS 2012 Selected List of Nursing Journals and look at the Peer Review (Yes/No) and Peer Review Methods (scroll right) column. 

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