United States History

What is a “peer-reviewed” journal?

• Submissions are usually reviewed by professionals, such as professors, research scientists, or other scholars
• The scholarly professionals or “peers” have qualifications and interests similar to the authors
• Acceptance for publication is usually selective
• An editorial board may manage the journal, its contents, and the review process
• The journal is often searchable in prominent indexes within the discipline

Common elements of a scholarly or “peer-reviewed” journal article

Abstract – What is this article about? The abstract is a concise summary.

Introduction – What is the key problem, issue, or question?

Method – How will the author investigate the problem? With a laboratory test? Or a survey? Or another type of study?

Results – Research findings, including observations, statistics, graphs, etc.

Discussion / Conclusion – What did the author learn? What did the study prove? What questions are still unanswered?

References – What other scholarly articles did the author consult when conducting this research and writing this article?

If you are using Google Scholar off campus, change your settings to link to our library holdings. 

1. Click here to access Google Scholar's settings
2. Select Library Links to the left
3. Search for Minnesota State University Mankato
4. Check all options for Minnesota State University Mankato
5. Press the Save button
6. Conduct your search in Google Scholar
7. If you cannot access the articles by clicking on the title, click the "View It @ My Library" or the double arrow icon and the "Get it @ MNSU" links.
   
   
8. You may be asked to enter your StarID username and password to access the article
9. If the article is still not found, use Interlibrary Loan to have the library get the article for you.