Peer-review is a process by which an article is evaluated by experts in the field, i.e., the author's scholarly peers. The reviewers provide their opinion on whether the article should be published. Articles from peer-reviewed journals should be more trustworthy than materials from sources that are not reviewed, such as newsletters or most websites.
How do I search for peer-reviewed articles?
Some (not all) databasess allow you to limit your search to peer-reviewed journals. First, run your search. On the results screen, you'll see ways to limit your search on the left-hand side of the screen. Click on the limit labeled "Peer Reviewed."
There are many databases with information relevant to special education and visual impairment. Here are some of the best places to start your search.
For assistance choosing a database or for any other questions, send an email to the Subject Librarian or use the Ask Us 24/7 chat service.
If you need an article that UND does not provide full text for, request it for free through the interlibrary loan service.
Your research on special education and visual impairment might include research from medicine, counseling, and psychology; try the following databases:
Web of Science provides indexing, full text linking, and citation tracking for books and articles from vetted, high quality sources in all disciplines (arts and humanities, social sciences, business and sciences), as well as author, journal, and book metrics. Cited Reference Search includes books, artwork, and other cited works. Analyze results identifies frequent authors, funders, universities, and journals for a search or topic. Now includes Book Citation Index.
Google Scholar can be a great resource when you're trying to find related articles for your topic. It's also helpful if you're having difficulty finding resources on a topic where there might be a limited amount of available published literature or if you've found some good articles but they're not the most recent publications.
Access Google Scholar from Quick Links on the Library homepage. In Google Scholar, paste in the title of an article you've found. Look for the Cited By link underneath the article info. For the example below, 88 articles have cited the Oakleaf & Kaske article since it was published in 2009. By clicking on Cited By, you would see the information for the 88 articles. Look for the PDF or FindIt@UND button to access the articles.
Pro-tip: Don't see the FindIt@UND button next to an article you need for your research? Get it through our Interlibrary Loan service.