When you search for scholarly, peer-reviewed articles in the library's databases, you'll likely receive a wide range of different types of articles. The umbrella term of "scholarly articles" can include original research articles, brief communications/reports, review articles, case studies, methodologies, theoretical articles, and more.
The purpose of this page is to give you an overview of some of the most common types of scholarly articles, so that you can have a deeper understanding of what you are reading.
Definition:
The Research Article is "the most common type of journal manuscript used to publish full reports of data from research. It may be called an Original Article, Research Article, Research, or just Article, depending on the journal. The Original Research format is suitable for many different fields and different types of studies. It includes full Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion sections." - Springer, Types of Journal Articles
Example of a Research Article:
Islam, M. S., et al. (2021). COVID-19 vaccine rumors and conspiracy theories: The need for cognitive inoculation against misinformation to improve vaccine adherence. PLoS ONE, 16(5), e0251605. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251605
Definition:
"A review article summarizes and synthesizes existing research. The goal is to provide a comprehensive overview and identify gaps in the current knowledge to see what further research should be done. Review articles are typically published in academic journals by researchers or experts in a field. They can take the form of narrative reviews, systematic reviews, or meta-analyses." - ServiceScape, The 7 Types of Academic Papers and Journal Articles
Example of a Review Article:
Nela, A., & Parruca, E. (2023). Impact of social media disinformation and of fake news overexposure on the actual capacities and the psychological wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic: A systemic literature review. Global Psychotherapist, 3(1), 126–132. https://doi.org/10.52982/lkj191
Definition:
"A research case study involves an in-depth investigation of a particular individual, group, or situation with a goal to understand the effect of complex factors. A researcher performing a case study collects a variety of data on a case, including interviews, observations, and documents, and analyzes them to identify patterns, themes, and insights that can help to understand the case in greater depth." - ServiceScape, The 7 Types of Academic Papers and Journal Articles
Example of a Case Study:
Marmola, M., & Olszanecka-Marmola, A. (2024). Party affiliation and belief in conspiracy theories: Case study of Smolensk plane crash. Journal of Comparative Politics, 17(2), 17–35. https://sunyacc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/party-affiliation-belief-conspiracy-theories-case/docview/3077330524/se-2?accountid=39934