Google automatically finds synonyms and variations on the keywords you search for. Other databases don't always have the same capabilities. Here are a few tips which can make your database searches more effective:
Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT
Phrase searching: put quotes around your keywords to find the words together, in that order. Might limit your search too much; use carefully.
Truncation: in most databases, an asterisk at the end of a word will find all different endings.
Controlled vocabulary or subject headings: these are terms added to articles or books to help you find related topics. In some databases, you can click on these or add them to your search to help improve your results.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines peer review as:
"The process by which an academic journal passes a paper submitted for publication to independent experts for comments on its suitability and worth; refereeing." Source.
Many of the articles contained within the Compendex Engineering Village database and the Web of Science database have gone through the peer review process.
However, you can double check whether a journal is peer reviewed by searching the journal title in Ulrich's. This is helpful as Compendex Engineering Village does not have a filter for only peer reviewed articles. Within Ulrich's, search for the journal title. If the referee's jersey appears next to the title, then the journal has gone through the peer review process.
For a good overview of the components of an academic article, see Anatomy of a Scholarly Article.