Nursing publications are not all the same. You need to know the difference. For most assignments, you will be expected to use articles from peer-reviewed, scholarly journals.
Some terms to understand:
- "Periodical" is a term that encompasses both magazines and journals.
- "Magazine" refers to a popular or trade publication.
- "Journal" is used for periodicals that publish scholarly content.
- "Peer-reviewed" articles provide the highest quality control standard as articles are scrutinized by experts in the field before being published.
- "Editor-reviewed" articles have more limited review and do not meet the same gold standard of quality.
- "Research" articles have undergone peer-review and present the results of rigorous research studies. This work is seen as contributing to the knowledge base of the field and moving it forward.