As many of you know from my teaching sessions in your classes, I have in the past advised caution when using this search limiter (peer reviewed) in ERIC because it was assigned primarily to more recent records. Here is a clear explanation of how they assign the "peer reviewed" designator and the efforts underway to apply this retrospectively to earlier records.
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"ERIC is in the process of adding the peer-review status to journal records indexed between 1966
and 2003 to enhance the collection for the research community. To date, more than 30,000 records have been updated with the peer-review status. Updates will continue to be processed throughout the year.
To meet the challenges associated with obtaining peer-review data, we are using a model for information gathering that incorporates current industry practices while increasing precision to the extent possible. During this process, on a title by title basis, the ERIC team:
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"ERIC is in the process of adding the peer-review status to journal records indexed between 1966
and 2003 to enhance the collection for the research community. To date, more than 30,000 records have been updated with the peer-review status. Updates will continue to be processed throughout the year.
To meet the challenges associated with obtaining peer-review data, we are using a model for information gathering that incorporates current industry practices while increasing precision to the extent possible. During this process, on a title by title basis, the ERIC team:
- Reviews a title in Ulrich’s – if the title is identified as refereed, we accept the Ulrich’s designation; if the field is blank, we then
- Check The Serials Directory – if the title is identified as peer-reviewed, we accept the designation; if the field is blank, we then
- Check the publisher’s Web site – if we determine that the journal is peer reviewed, not just reviewed by an editor, we accept the identification; we also note the start of the peer-review process for a journal, if available, and apply this information to the ERIC records.
- If we still cannot determine the peer-reviewed status, or if we determine that the journal is not peer reviewed, the field is left blank.
- If we find that the only review performed was by a journal editor, ERIC does not designate the title as peer reviewed.
ERIC does not include historical data about when a journal became peer reviewed in the ERIC record or in the journal list. It can be very difficult to determine the peer-review start date for journals. After
holding discussions with Ulrich’s, a cross section of publishers, and Library Committee advisors, we concluded that historical data is not consistently reliable or available. However, if we are able to determine the date when peer review began, the ERIC team applies the status across the appropriate date range of records. If we are not able to determine the peer-review start date, we apply the status determined for the journal to all published records, a practice used by other information providers.
I hope this is helpful in explaining how ERIC handles the assignment of peer-review status to journal records. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions at ericfeedback@csc.com."
holding discussions with Ulrich’s, a cross section of publishers, and Library Committee advisors, we concluded that historical data is not consistently reliable or available. However, if we are able to determine the date when peer review began, the ERIC team applies the status across the appropriate date range of records. If we are not able to determine the peer-review start date, we apply the status determined for the journal to all published records, a practice used by other information providers.
I hope this is helpful in explaining how ERIC handles the assignment of peer-review status to journal records. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions at ericfeedback@csc.com."
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