what is peer-review

A peer-reviewed or refereed journal is one in which the articles are subjected to an external review process. Specialists or scholars in the same discipline review a draft of the article to evaluate the quality of scholarship, clarity & soundness of the research & conclusions, its contribution to the field, etc. The reviewers might suggest modifications to the article prior to publication.
What is the difference between scholarly, trade and popular articles?

1. The article was written by an expert or scholar in the field or on the topic.
2. The article was reviewed by other experts or scholars in the field or on the topic who assess the article for accuracy and other indicators of scholarship before providing feedback to the author.
3. The author made any necessary edits or changes to the article based on the feedback provided before the article was published.

Check out NCSU Libraries video, “Peer Review in Three Minutes” for more information about the peer review process.

Before a scientific paper is published in a journal, it is usually peer-reviewed. The aim is to make sure that the research is reliable and credible.
The peer-review process is designed to make sure research stands up to scrutiny.

Peer review is certainly not a perfect system, but it is the current model for ensuring high quality research in most scholarly journal articles. Read more about Peer Review.
Peer reviewed articles, a lso known as scholarly or refereed articles, have been evaluated by several researchers or subject specialists in the academic community prior to being accepted for publication.

References:

http://libanswers.snhu.edu/faq/8665
http://www.sciencefocus.com/science/what-is-peer-review-for-a-scientific-paper/
http://researchguides.library.brocku.ca/LearningObjects/peerreview
http://www.peer-review-network.eu/