An "original research article" reports the results of an original research study. It is sometimes called a primary research article. The article also looks at how the study adds knowledge to what is already known.
When you start reading a scientific research article it will help if you understand what is included in the different sections and what you should look for.
Read and Evaluate the Abstract
The abstract aims be a concise summary of the article. It should describe the focus, study results and conclusion(s) presented in the article. The abstract can help you decide if the article is relevant to your assignment.
Is the Article Current Enough for Your Assignment?
- It is hard to set hard and fast rules on how recent your article needs to be.
- You need to decide if the article is: up-to-date; out-of-date or timeless.
Journal Quality, Author Credential, Funding Bodies and Ethics
- Is the article peer-reviewed. Use Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory to look up the title of the journal where the article is published. If the journal is peer-reviewed, then the articles within it will be peer-reviewed.
- What are the authors' qualifications, their work experience and affiliations?
- You should also think about who funded the research.
- Another consideration is if the research has an ethics approval.
Introduction and Literature Review
The introduction explains to you what the study is about and why it is important, unique or how it adds to existing knowledge in the field. The research question (the hypothesis) is also outlined in the introduction.
A research article also includes a literature review of previous research. This review should help you understand what is already known about the topic and what is left to discover. It should also clarify why the research in this article is unique.
Methodology / Materials and Methods
In this section the authors explain how they conducted the research. The methodology should include enough information so that the research could be repeated.
You should be able to find out if it was a qualitative or quantitative project, or if it was a combination of both.
Results and Analysis
In this section, the authors explain the research findings. These findings are then analysed.
You need to make sure you understand results.
Questions to consider:
- What did the study find?
- Are the results presented in a factual and unbiased way?
- Do you think some data are missing?
- Do you think their analysis reflects the research data?
- Do your conclusion match what the authors' conclusion?
Discussion / Analysis
In the discussion the authors analyse their data and explain what was significant about the results.
Conclusion
In the final section the authors discuss the strength and weaknesses of the study. They will discuss if the result was what they predicted when planning the research. Recommendations for future research are also included in this section.
The Bibliography or Reference List
An important part of writing a research article is to acknowledge our sources. You can use the reference list to find other articles on the topic.
Further readings:
Subramanyam, R. V. (2013). Art of reading a journal article: Methodically and effectively. Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology (0973029X), 17(1), 65-70. doi:10.4103/0973-029X.110733
