Original research articles
What is an original research article? Have a look at our introductory guides to learn more about the characteristics of research articles, and how they usually are structured.
Original research vs. Review articles
Video (1:26) made by Dominician University, Rebbecca Crown Library.
Peer-review
If you want to learn more about peer review, this video made by NCSU Libraries Peer Review in Three Minutes (3:15) will give you a quick introduction.
Structure of original research articles
In medicine and health care, original research articles are an important information source. In original research articles the latest research is presented. An original research article often has a standard structure, IMRaD structure.
IMRaD structure
IMRaD is short for Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion, and this is the most common structure of original research article. In original research articles, you also find an abstract and a list of references to previous research. Below you can see the content of the sections in the IMRaD structure.
Introduction
Background and previous research is presented, what is known and what is not known? The aim of the study and the specific research questions are presented. Sometimes this section has the rubric Background.
Method
In the method section you find a detailed description of how the study was conducted. How was participants or patients recruited? Is there a comparison group? How was data collected and analyzed? The method section is important since how the study was conducted also affects the credibility of the results. If there is a method section, it also tells us that it is probably an original research article and not e. g. a review.
Results
The results are presented. Often tables and figures are used together with text.
Discussion
In the discussion the results are connected to previous research, are they aligned or are there contradictions? The importance of the result is discussed, e. g. how and for which population the results can be applied. Strengths and weaknesses of the study should be discussed, since these are important to the credibility and applicability of the results. Whether the research question was answered or not is addressed, together with suggestions for further research.
What is peer review?
- Experts within research field reviews a submitted manuscript before publication in a journal
- Peer review process include how well the study is described and conducted
- Authors are often prompted to revise their manuscript before publication
- Peer review is a quality control before publication in journals
Review articles
There are also other types of research papers, such as reviews that can be either narrative or systematic.
Narrative reviews summarizes others' research articles. A narrative or descriptive review is often called just "review".
Systematic reviews översiktsartiklar are comprehensive literature reviews that often assesses the effect of an intervention. There is a method section and an assessment method presented. Systematic reviews are an important part of evidence-based medicine and healthcare.
Other types of content in journals
Other types of papers you can find in journals are letter to the editor, comments or opinion-based material. These papers are not primary research but part of research communication and critique. These texts do not have IMRaD structure and are not peer reviewed.