Sociology 145: Sociology of Health (Polonijo)

Scholarly journals contain more than one type of article. In one issue of a journal, such as this issue of Nature, you may find original research articles, review articles, letters to the editor, book reviews, and more. When browsing articles in databases or in paper journals, keep the following questions in mind:

• What is this piece's purpose?
• Is this an original research article?
• Does this article summarize the original research of others?
• Why is this material included in the journal?

Watch this brief (2:10) video on the difference between a review and a research article.

Activity

After watching this brief video together, we'll fill out the Jamboard (link below) to describe the differences between these two types of articles.

Original research articles are based on an experiment or study.  The authors will report the purpose of the study, the research methodology, and results. This is a familiar structure for original research articles > IMRAD: introduction, methods, results, and discussion.

Example: Kim, S. L., Zeichner, S. S., Colman, A. S., Scher, H. D., Kriwet, J., Mörs, T., & Huber, M. (2020). Probing the ecology and climate of the Eocene Southern Ocean with sand tiger sharks Striatolamia macrota. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 35(12), e2020PA003997.

Review articles summarize or synthesize content from earlier published research and are useful for surveying the literature on a specific research area.  Review articles can lead you to original research articles.

Example: Djeghri, N., Pondaven, P., Stibor, H., & Dawson, M. N. (2019). Review of the diversity, traits, and ecology of zooxanthellate jellyfishes. Marine Biology, 166(11), 147.