Scholarly articles are published in journals intended for audiences in specific academic disciplines. Many, but not all, scholarly journals are peer-reviewed.
Prior to publication, peer-reviewed articles are submitted to reviewers who are experts in the field who offer feedback to the author. Because the reviewers specialize in the same scholarly area as the author, they are considered the author’s peers (hence “peer review”).
Both scholarly and peer-reviewed articles are excellent places to find what has been studied or researched on a topic, as well as find references to additional relevant sources of information.
Source: OCL Articles research guide