What types of articles do journals publish?

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TYPES OF ARTICLES JOURNALS PUBLISH
A guide for early career researchers
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Publish or Perish

• As a researcher, you are expected to start
  publishing early in your career. Not having any
  publications to your credit could jeopardize your
  future prospects.
• But original research could take years to
  complete!

Dont worry, this does not mean that you have to
wait to publish a paper until you complete your
research.
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Publish, dont Perish
Did you know?

• An original article is not the only way in which
  you can disseminate your research.
• Learning more about the different types of
  scholarly literature will help you choose the
  most suitable format for publishing your study.

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Types of scholarly literature
Primary literature
Secondary literature
Is based on previously published studies
Requires original research
Usually discusses or summarizes primary literature
Deals with a very current, highly specialized
topic

• Examples
• Monographs (books dealing with a specific area of
  research in the sciences)
• Review articles (literature reviews, systematic
  reviews)

• Examples
• Theses/Dissertations
• Conference proceedings
• Technical reports
• Original research articles

Now let us look at some of these in detail.
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Original research articles

• A type of primary literature

Characteristics of original research articles
Include a hypothesis, background study, methods,
results and their interpretation, discussion, and
conclusion
Have a definite structure
Could range from 3,000 to 6,000, even 12,000
words
Tend to be time-intensive
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Review articles (1/4)

• A type of secondary literature

Characteristics of review articles
Offer an efficient way for early-career
researchers to begin publishing as well as to
establish themselves as critical thinkers
Look at published research from a different
perspective and analyze problems in published data
Provide an overview of existing literature in the
field
Are usually lengthy, around 3,000-5,000 words, or
more, depending on the journal
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Review articles (2/4)
Types of review articles Literature reviews
LITERATURE REVIEWS

• Provide a critical summary of all published
  studies on a particular topic
• Analyze specific issues, identify trends, or
  point out research gaps in existing literature
• Can be published as part of an original article
  or as standalone papers

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Review articles (3/4)
Types of review articles Systematic reviews
SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS

• Are more structured and rigorous than literature
  reviews
• Address a clearly formulated question about the
  literature reviewed
• Include reviews of published studies as well as
  gray literature (unpublished studies, reports,
  dissertations, conference papers and abstracts,
  governmental research, ongoing clinical trials,
  etc.)

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Review articles (4/4)
Types of review articles Meta-analyses
META-ANALYSES

• Use statistical methods to integrate estimates of
  effect from independent but similar studies and
  summarize them
• Collate measures from many similar studies
  instead of relying on measures derived from a
  single study
• Are often part of systematic reviews

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Clinical case studies

• A type primary literature

Characteristics of clinical case studies
Present details of real patient cases from
medical or clinical practice
Require a lot of practical experience and may not
be a suitable publication format for early career
researchers
Are expected to discuss the signs, symptoms,
diagnosis, and treatment of a disease
Usually have a word count similar to that of an
original article
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Clinical trials
A type of primary literature
Characteristics of clinical trials
Usually medical or clinical studies on human
volunteers these investigations follow a
pre-determined research protocol
Can be of two broad types Observational
(investigators observe the participants) Intervent
ional (participants receive specific treatments
or interventions)
Around the same length as an original research
article
Require practical work experience as well as high
standards of ethics and reliability they are
more useful for experienced researchers
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Perspectives, opinions, or commentary

• Types of secondary literature

Characteristics of perspective, opinion, and
commentary articles

• Scholarly reviews of fundamental concepts or
  prevalent ideas in a field
• Short essays (roughly 2,000 words) that present a
  personal viewpoint or critique established
  notions pertaining to a field

PERSPECTIVE ARTICLES
OPINION PIECES

• Include an authors viewpoint on the
  interpretation, analysis, or methods used in a
  study
• Relatively short articles based on constructive
  criticism that is supported by evidence

COMMENTARY ARTICLES

• Short articles (around 1,000-1,500 words)
• Discuss previously published work, explaining how
  it might be of interest to readers

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Book reviews

• A type of secondary literature

Characteristics of book reviews
Intended to provide insights into and opinions on
recently published scholarly books
Published in most academic journals
A good publication option for early-career
researchers
Expected to be unbiased
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Other types of articles
Letters/Communications Brief descriptions of
critical research findings (not the same as
Letters to the Editor) Technical reports Present
the results of a project, which could be
published before the corresponding full-length
original article Conference proceedings A
collection of scholarly papers presented at
academic conferences often considered important
gray literature, which may or may not be
published Data papers Articles dedicated to
describe datasets Video articles An emerging
format wherein a novel technique is demonstrated
on video and a detailed textual description
follows
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How to choose the right format for your research
Here are some tips to help you choose the right
format for your research.

• Know that the types of publications are different
  in different fields.
• Example
• Medicine gt Clinical trials
• Social sciences gt Empirical study
• Remember that not all journals publish all types
  of articles.
• Look at the journals author guidelines for
  details about the types of articles accepted.
• Speak to your supervisors or senior colleagues
  for advice.

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• GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PAPER!

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Sources (1/2)

• 6 Article types that journals publish A guide
  for early career researchers Accessed August 10,
  2015 Available from http//www.editage.com/insigh
  ts/6-article-types-that-journals-publish-a-guide-f
  or-early-career-researchers
• A young researcher's guide to writing an original
  research article Accessed August 10, 2015
  Available from http//www.editage.com/insights/a-y
  oung-researchers-guide-to-writing-an-original-rese
  arch-article
• A young researcher's guide to writing a
  literature review Accessed August 10, 2015
  Available from http//www.editage.com/insights/a-y
  oung-researchers-guide-to-writing-a-literature-rev
  iew
• A young researcher's guide to writing a clinical
  case report Accessed August 10, 2015 Available
  from http//www.editage.com/insights/a-young-resea
  rchers-guide-to-writing-a-clinical-case-report
• A young researcher's guide to a clinical trial
  Accessed August 10, 2015 Available from
  http//www.editage.com/insights/a-young-researcher
  s-guide-to-a-clinical-trial
• Scientific journal Accessed August 10, 2015
  Available from https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scien
  tific_journalTypes_of_articles

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Sources (2/2)

• Scientific literature Accessed August 10, 2015
  Available from http//www.lib.berkeley.edu/BIOS/bi
  o1bscholcomm.html
• My instructor wants me to use Primary Literature.
  What is it and how do I find it? Accessed August
  10, 2015 Available from http//libanswers.library
  .cpp.edu/a.php?qid35835
• Proceedings Accessed August 10, 2015 Available
  from https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proceedings
• Conference Proceedings What Are Conference
  Proceedings? Accessed August 10, 2015 Available
  from http//libguides.gatech.edu/confproc
• Technical Report Accessed August 10, 2015
  Available from https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techn
  ical_report
• Technical Reports Definition Accessed August
  10, 2015 Available from http//libguides.gatech.e
  du/c.php?g53991p348582
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