Many academic journals are peer-reviewed or refereed journals. When an author (usually a university professor and/or researcher) submits an article, copies are sent to several reviewers who are expert scholars in the author's field. These reviewers then recommend whether or not the article should be published. Some journals reject as many as 90% of submissions. This rigorous review process provides a high degree of credibility.
Two short, informative videos about Scholarly and Peer-Reviewed journals:
What is a Scholarly Journal Article? (3 minutes)
Though peer-reviewed, refereed, scholarly, and academic are not exactly the same thing, they are often used interchangeably.
