How to Write and Publish a Scientific Article
The research article
As its name suggests, a research article presents original research results. This is the type of article most frequently written by researchers.
A research article published in a scholarly journal is generally reviewed by peer reviewers appointed by the editorial board of that journal. Here is an example of a research article.
Articles can be short or longer. Indeed, some journals specialize in disseminating short articles to quickly announce, in a very condensed way, an important discovery before it becomes the subject of a more detailed article later (e.g., Optics Letters, Optimization Letters, etc.).
Moreover, research articles can be subdivided into sub-categories, depending on the approach chosen in the article to process the information. Although the terminology describing these sub-categories is not standardized, research articles can be:
- Experimental articles;
- Theoretical articles;
- Data Papers, etc.
The review article
Unlike a research paper, a review article does not present new advances, but rather provides the state of the art on a selected topic, while still being an original article.
A review article is a critical assessment of research developments in a specialized field and contains numerous bibliographic references.
Here is an example of a review article.
In his book Comprendre et maîtriser la littérature scientifique (Understanding and mastering scientific literature) Bernard Pochet clearly explains what a review article is.
Because it is a summary, a review article is generally more cited than a research article.
Several terms can be used to designate a review article. Here are a few examples:
In English:
- State of the art
- Literature review
- Review
- Advances in...
- Progress in...
- Current topics in...
- Yearbook of...
- Outlook
- Synthesis
- Critical survey
- Comprehensive survey
In French:
- État de l'art
- Recension des écrits
- Revue de littérature
The Guide for Authors, your ally!
The Guide for Authors, usually available on the journal's website, describes the types of articles published by the journal and their particularities. Sometimes, this information can be found elsewhere on the journal's website, for example in the editorial policy, the journal's mission statement, the About Us section, etc.
For example, the Biomaterials' Guide for Authors states that this Elsevier journal publishes three types of articles:
- Original Research;
- Review;
- Leading Opinion Paper.
