BI 221 Z: Southeast, Fall 2025, McKee: Peer-Reviewed Articles

This assignment requires you to find and read two kinds of peer-reviewed articles: research articles, which communicate the findings of research the authors have carried out, and review articles, which gather the findings of many research projects and articles. 

This is a sour note to strike on a research guide, but it is important to know that there are bad actors in the world of academic publishing, frequently posing as academic journals. These "predatory" journals are financial scams meant to lure in researchers. 

A librarian began listing these journals many years ago, and the effort continues. You can see that project at Beall's List if you'd like. 

Though coming across a fake journal article is uncommon, it is difficult to identify them as a student researcher. Here are a few things to watch for:

• irregularities in spelling, formatting, and dates
• journal titles that sound very close to prominent journals but are different
• fuzzy or low quality images
• vague "about us" pages on websites
• no ISSN number and articles are not found in databases

When in doubt, search for the title of the journal to see if you can determine credibility, or ask a librarian! We're here to help! 

Before searching, be sure to set PCC as your library in your browser by:

1. Visiting the link to set "Library Links" settings for Google Scholar, 
2. using the search box to search for "Portland Community College",
3. checking the check box that appears underneath the search to select “Portland Community College – Find it @ PCC”, 
4. and then selecting the Save button.

This will ensure that when you search Google Scholar in your browser, you will see Find It @ PCC links to full text if we have the article (Google Scholar sometimes also provides links to other free sources for full text).

You can learn more about setting Google Scholar preferences on the PCC Library Website.