One of several good library web pages that define what a peer reviewed journal is and how to identify one:
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/alx/peer.htm
So why are peer reviewed journals important? In summary, they represent the highest levels of academic scholarship. Using information found in peer reviewed journals will save you considerable time that would otherwise be spent scrutinizing the authority and accuracy of the source.
P.B.
An interesting article about how copyright restrictions are often applied to items that are part of the public domain, that is, materials that should be freely and publicly available for use and reproduction. Part of being information literate is knowing what your rights are to information and its sources. As information becomes more and more a valuable commodity, can we expect to see more claims of copyright applied to public domain materials?
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=787244.
On a similar note, check out the Freedom of Information Act letter generator. Now its easy than ever to get those closely held documents the government doesn’t want you to have!
P.B.
