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Peer review is a process where submissions for academic publication are assessed by a panel of suitably qualified peers in that specific area of research. Peer reviewers assess the quality of research, provide constructive feedback to the author(s), and advise the editor on the publishing outcome – acceptance, revision needed, or rejection.

Peer review is a good indication of credibility of a publication, as it has been rigorously assessed against appropriate criteria by experts in the field.

In LibrarySearch, you can filter your search results to see only peer-reviewed items.

You can also filter by content type. If you want to find relevant peer-reviewed journals to browse or search for articles, you can filter by "Scholarly & Peer-Reviewed" and for "Journal / eJournal" only.

What are they?

Journal: An academic journal is a specialist publication where academics and researchers can publish and communicate their work. A journal publishes articles, research papers and reviews of a high quality that have been reviewed by experts in the subject.

Databases: Library databases contain information about published academic research. Like journals, they contain peer reviewed articles but also reports, datasets, facts and figures, theses and dissertations and all manner of academic information related to your subject. You can browse our A-Z of Academic Databases by your subject area. Watch our video below for a demonstration.

Using journals and databases should form part of your Search Strategy. For more information, see our Successful Searching Guide.

It is important for students and researchers to have access to the latest peer review research, as you are expected to use this in your work. Follow our tips on utilising databases and journals so you can make use of them in your work.

Databases, like LibrarySearch, can be searched using keywords, i.e. words and phrases chosen by you that relate to your topic. 

You may also want to use subject terms, which are a "controlled vocabulary" used by the database to organise information according to subject.

Subject term searches are more specific, and will produce fewer, but usually more relevant, search results.

You can usually search or browse through a databases's subject terms through its thesaurus, which may be labelled "Subjects" or similar. Check the "help" section of the database in question if you cannot easily find this.

You can also conduct a search using keywords of your choice, then take note of the terms listed under "Subjects" for relevant sources.

Search for journal articles held by typing keywords into the box below.

When you find the journal article you need, click on the Title or Full Text Online to read it. If you have difficulty accessing journal articles or databases, let us know through our query form.

The MU Department of Ancient Classics uses 

its own house referencing style

Details are available from its Departmental Handbook.

Check out our Referencing Guide for help laying out your references.

As well as general research databases, subject databases, and reference databases, you can also find primary source databases that connect you to collections of digitised and born-digital primary sources. 

Primary Sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic or event. They can include archival material, census records, statistics, historical records or letters.

Secondary Sources are one step removed, and often analyse, interpret, or comment on primary materials or events. They can include articles, books, reviews, commentaries, and analyses.