When we think of research paper publication, we think about publishing research articles. However, research articles are not the only type of articles we can get published in prestigious journals. In fact, putting together studies on a particular topic and serving it as a guideline for fellow researchers is another contribution many scholars make to scholarship. If you are working on a study in your field, you would like to stick to that. However, if you are looking for ways to broaden the reach of your field so more people can understand it and contribute to it or learn from it, you can also help the subject by writing a review article. But what are review articles? how are you supposed to write them?
Are they as rewarding and attract as much recognition as a reasonably successful research article?We will cover these questions and more in this blog post.
What are Review Articles?
As the name suggests, review articles review one or more studies on a certain topic. The purpose of these articles is to discuss the question, method, findings, and conclusions of the said research. Sometimes, the author of a review article uses his opinion and pinpoint gaps in the research or its methodology or conclusion.
These articles pave the way for further research by highlighting deficiencies in previous work. Also, it emphasizes the takeaways from the said research to give readers foundations for further work.
Types of Review Articles
Scholars write review articles in one of three ways:
Narrative
This is a simple review article that builds on a single research. For such a review, scholars usually pick a significant study and dissect its contributions in an easy-to-understand manner.
Meta-Analysis
This type of review article will assess a multitude of past studies concerning their findings. The purpose is to detect differences and conflicting methodologies and conclusions between these studies. In short, meta-analysis forces the researcher to critically analyze the validity of the findings from a bunch of studies on a given topic.
Systematic Review
A systematic review is like a literature review as it collects numerous studies to prove certain concepts. Scholars write this review to establish a fact with enough stats and studies to back it up.
Difference Between Review Articles and Research Articles
You must have noticed that review articles are developed based on previously published research articles. This way, these articles are different from their counterparts. Let’s understand the key differences between the two types of scholastic pieces.
Originality
Research articles are based on primary research conducted by their authors, while review articles are secondary research that is founded on previous studies. Review article authors only present the information to highlight one or another angle. Moreover, the research article only discusses at most one study at a time. The other type of article often uses a group of studies to reach its conclusion.
Objectivity
Research articles must adhere to high standards of objectivity and scholastic integrity. Researchers cannot let their views and opinions cloud their judgment. This is not the case with review articles which can be written from any angle taken by the author. Mostly, authors discuss the objectivity and completeness of the studies under review after presenting a subjective research question.
Presentation
Research articles must follow a predefined, professional set of rules. Review articles are free of such limitations. Depending on your area of research and the publication you have chosen, you will have to stick to APA, MLA, or similar other formatting styles. On the other hand, review articles don’t have to follow stringent criteria given in these styles and can choose any style.
Do Journals Publish Review Articles
The next question that begs your attention is about the ability of a review article to get published in prestigious journals. Note that not all journals accept review articles and opt to limit their choices to original studies conducted by scholars in their area of research. However, many prestigious journals not only allow such articles but also encourage their authors to send them because of their inherent usefulness.
When you plan to write your review article, you must check if it’s accepted in journals specific to your industry. You will do this by first shortlisting all journals whose scope matches the scope of your review article. Then, check their submission guidelines.
Should You write a Review Article?
One of the most prominent career goals of researchers is to gain recognition in their field of study. Writing scholarly articles and getting published in research paper publications is one way to achieve it. Oftentimes, scholars have to pick between their career advancement and their passion for research on a particular topic.
Luckily, more often than not, you don’t have to choose between these two priorities when you plan to write a review article. On the contrary, a review article earns you just as much recognition and career advancement as research articles if not more. So, go ahead with your plan to write on the topic of your interest, but do it with proper planning and background study. You should choose a topic that is still popular in academics but hasn’t received much attention in past review articles.
Wrapping Up
Review articles are different from research articles in many ways most important of which is the originality and ownership of the research. While most professional and impactful research paper publications require research papers to uphold high standards of scholastic research, objectivity, and formatting and presentation; review articles don’t have to comply with these stringent requirements. Review articles can be built on one or more studies.
They don’t have to be original but like research articles, they must focus on answering one research question at a time. These articles are a great opportunity to showcase that you are an authority on your subject, so if you are avoiding writing a review article because you assume that it will not bring you enough recognition, don’t.
