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PSYC 221: Physiology & Behavior (Bitran): Types of Research Articles

Fall 2023

Types of Research Articles

For your assignment, it will be important properly identify and assess the types of research you are gathering -- whether you are reading primary/research articles, secondary research articles or popular articles. Read the box to the right to learn more about Primary/Research Articles and the other kinds of articles you might encounter in the course of your searching, as well as the differences between them.  You may also wish to consult this handout to solidify your understanding: 

Comparing Article Types

Non-Scholarly Articles

Non-scholarly articles are often called "popular" articles because they are designed for "popular" consumption by the general population (as opposed to scholarly articles which are typically written by experts for an audience of experts). 

Characteristics: 

  • Not major source
  • Not peer reviewed
  • Provide description of a topic in layman's language

See the chart below for a comparison of the differences between a non-scholarly and a scholarly article:

Uses: 

  • Provides keywords to conduct searches for scholarly articles
  • May provide partial citation to a scholarly article or to a researcher by name that you can then search to find the primary article

Example:  

Cannabinoid may make new brain cells grow, reduce depression in rats. (2005, December 12). Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly 17 (47), 7. 

Click here to view the article (requires HC Google log-in) 

Secondary/Review Articles

Secondary/Review articles are a type of scholarly/academic, or peer-reviewed, article. Scholarly articles are articles written by experts, for experts, and vetted by experts via a rigorous review progress (known as peer review) prior to their publication. For most research assignments, you will want to rely on scholarly sources for your information. However, there are different kinds of scholarly articles. 

See the chart below for a comparison of the differences between a non-scholarly and a scholarly article:

Secondary/Review articles are scholarly sources that provide valuable information about research being done in the field. However, they are a step removed in that the authors of Secondary/Review articles are reporting on research that has been conducted by other scholars, rather than sharing the results of their own research. 

Characteristics: 

  • Lacking methodology, results, etc. sections that indicate that the author(s) are reporting the results of their own research
  • Metadata articles (articles that collect, compile and present data from many studies into one article) are secondary articles
  • Clinical Trials (ex. testing pharmaceuticals) are usually secondary articles

Uses: 

  • Provide an depth overview of major literature published on a topic
  • Provide citations to primary/research articles on a topic - which you can then find in full text using library tools

Example:

Ramikie, T.S. & Patel, S. (2012). Review: Endocannabinoid signaling in the amygdala: Anatomy, synaptic signaling, behavior, and adaptations to stress. Neuroscience 204, 38-52. 

Click here to view the article, with highlighted references to a primary research article. (requires HC Google log-in).
Click here to view one of the primary research articles (see next tab) mentioned in the review article. (requires HC Google log-in).

Primary/Research Articles

Primary/Research articles are scholarly sources that provide valuable first-hand information about research being conducted in a given discipline. These articles directly present the experiments/studies and subsequent results currently being conducted in the field, as presented by the scholars who conducted these studies. 

Characteristics: 

  • Has all the characteristics of a scholarly/peer-reviewed journal; in addition -- 
  • Look for sections such as methodology, results/findings, etc. that indicate that primary research is being reported 

Uses: 

  • Provides main source of information for the basis of your paper
  • Research methods used can be observational, experimental, or descriptive
  • Provides structure to follow in writing your paper: Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results (Qualitative Description of of Findings), Discussion (why findings are significant), Conclusion (summary)

Example: 

Jiang, W., Zhang, Y., Xiao, L., Van Cleemput, J., Ji, S., Bai, G. & Zhang, X. (2005). Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects. Journal of Clinical Investigation 115(11), 3104-3116.

Click here to view the article (requires HC log-in if off-campus)