A scientific/empirical/research article reports methods and findings of an original research study conducted by the authors of the article.
You can identify a scientific article by the order in which its contents are presented in the article:
Academic or scholarly journals articles are written by experts in a particular scholarly field and read by other experts in that same field. They are good sources for research since the articles are most often peer-reviewed, that is checked by other experts working in the same area to make sure the information is both accurate and timely.
Academic journals look very different from trade publications or magazines. While magazines usually have glossy, colorful covers and advertisements throughout, academic journals often look rather plain, with only simple black text and few pictures. But inside a database those visual cues are not present and it can be harder to tell if the article you found was originally published in a magazine or an academic journal. To determine whether an article in a databse is from a magazine or an academic journal look for the following clues:
(University of Washington)
Scholarly Journal Article | Non-scholarly Journal Article | |
Purpose |
To share with other scholars the results of primary research and experiments |
To entertain or inform in a broad, general sense |
Audience |
Researchers; Academic faculty & students |
General public |
Author |
A respected Scholar or researcher in the field; an expert on the topic; author's names are always noted |
A journalist or feature writer; authors' names not always noted |
Publisher |
A professional association; a university or scholarly commercial publisher |
A commercial publisher. |
Appearance |
Very basic layout, usually black text on white paper; tables or charts to illustrate research components; advertising is at a minimum and is subject-related. |
Often printed on glossy paper with colored text or headlines; usually has accompanying photographs and many advertisements. |
Publication Appearance |
Experts (peers) in the field review each article submission before publication acceptance (i.e. peer reviewed). |
Writers are often employed by the magazine or publisher; acceptance is based largely on the topic's consumer appeal; not peer reviewed. |
Language |
College-level; specialized vocabulary or jargon of the discipline |
Non-technical, converstational/simple vocabulary. |
Article Length |
Often lengthy (approximately 10-30 pages) |
Often short (approximately 1-10 pages) |
Article Organization & References |
Highly-structured; include abstracts, review of literature, methodology, and citations to sources; always contain a bibliography of references. |
Loosely-structured; rarely have bibliographies; sometimes informally mention sources. |
Examples |
American Journal of Political Science, Policy Studies Review, New England Journal of Medicine |
Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, Time, Rolling Stone |
(Cornell College)