Differences between a research paper and a review paper
There are different types of scholarly literature. Some of these require researchers to conduct an original study, whereas others can be based on previously published research. Understanding each of these types and also how they differ from one another can be rather confusing for researchers, especially early career researchers. One of the most popular questions is What is the difference between a research paper and a review paper?
Or What's the difference between a research article and a review article? Research articles, sometimes referred to as empirical or primary sources, report on original research. They will typically include sections such as an introduction, methods, results, and discussion. Review articles, sometimes called literature reviews or secondary sources, synthesize or analyze research already conducted in primary sources. They generally summarize the current state of research on a given topic. Led us to conclude that of all the types of scholarly literature, researchers tend to be most perplexed by the distinction between a research paper and a review paper. This info-graphic explains the five main differences between these two types of scholarly papers.
Research Paper Review Paper
1) What is its purpose? Its purpose is to conduct and report a Its purpose is to critically analyse detialed , originial research study. It previously published litertaure on a presents the author's unique specific topic. investigation of specific research question. 2) What is it based on? It is based on original research that has It is based on existing published ben conducted by the paper's authors. articles; it does not report any This known as primary literature. original research. This is known as secondary literature. 3) How is it written? The authors formulate a research The authors select a specific topic question , collect raw data and conduct and then summarize existing an original study. literature on that topic. The research paper is then written This is done in an attempt to based on an analysis and interpretation present an overview of the topic's of this data current state of understanding 4) What dise it report? It reposrts each step of the study in It idnetifies and reports detial. This includes an abstract, the commonalities between the results hypothesis, background study, of the chosen studies . If there are methodology, results and an discrepancies then the authors try to interpretation of the findings. provide reasons for conflicting results. It also includes discusssion of the With a balanced perspective , the possible implications of the results , of authors anlayse avialabe how the study contributes to existing information from published work literature and syggestions for further and report any problems with or research . gap within the existing literature. 5) How long should it be? It depends on the word count specified The word lomoted usually rages by the journal but word limit usually between 3000 and 5000 latively rages between 3000-6000 words. For shor . In some cases , a lomger or some journals the words limit might relatively short review paper might even go up to 12000 also be published , depending upon the journal.
Guidelines for writing a Review Article A) Good to know about review articles B) Elements of a review article C) Guidelines for preparing a review article in 18 steps D) Examples of high-quality review articles in the plant sciences (to be used in your own work) E) References used in this Guideline
A) Good to know about review articles What is a review article? A critical, constructive analysis of the literature in a specific field through summary, classification, analysis, comparison. A scientific text relying on previously published literature or data. New data from the author’s experiments are not presented (with exceptions: some reviews contain new data). A stand-alone publication. Literature reviews as integral parts of master theses, doctoral theses or grant proposals will not be considered here. However, many tips in this guideline are transferable to these text types. What is the function of a review article? to organize literature to evaluate literature to identify patterns and trends in the literature to synthesize literature to identify research gaps and recommend new research areas
Who is the audience of review articles? experts in specific research areas students or novice researchers decision-makers Review articles targeted at the last two groups: Extended explanations of subjects or of subject-specific language are mandatory (e.g. through the uses of information boxes or glossaries).
Which types of review articles exist? Types by methodological approach Narrative review Selected studies are compared and summarized on the basis of the author’s experience, existing theories and models. Results are based on a qualitative rather than a quantitative level. Best evidence review A focus on selected studies is combined with systematic methods of study-selection and result exploration. Systematic review Findings from various individual studies are analyzed statistically by strict procedures. Meta-Analyses are used to pool the results of individual studies.
Types by objective (Noguchi 2006) Status quo review Presentation of the most current research for a given topic or field of research. History review Development of a field of research over time. Issue review Investigation of an issue (i.e. a point of disagreement or a question) in a specific field of research. Theory/model review Introduction of a new theory or model in a specific field of research. Types by mandate Invited reviews: experienced researchers are invited Commissioned reviews: formal contracts of authors with clients Unsolicited submissions: researchers develop an idea for a review and submit it to journal editors
How long is a review article? Review articles vary considerably in length. Narrative reviews may range between 8,000 and 40,000 words (references and everything else included). Systematic reviews are usually shorter with less than 10,000 words.
B) Elements of a review article
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