Biol 121

A scientific article is written by scientists for a scholarly audience. A peer-reviewed journal article means that the article’s scientific quality has been checked by other scientists before publication. A scientific journal has a council of referees consisting of experienced researchers within the journal’s field. These experts review the submitted articles and assess their quality, both scientifically and according to content. They decide if the article is to be published directly, should be amended, or refused. This process is known as peer review and the aim is to ensure scientific quality.

Journals can also, in addition to scientific articles, include other types of articles such as book reviews, opinion articles and commentaries so be sure to keep an eye out for these.

Different types of scientific articles:

• Original articles where the author describes the empirical studies and for the first time describes the results of a research work.
• Review articles are critical evaluations, in which the author organizes, integrates, and evaluates previously published studies.
• Theoretical articles where the author based on existing research presents a new theory, analyzes or criticizes existing theories.

A scientific research study contains the following elements:

• Abstract - a brief summary of the article that addresses purpose, methods, results and conclusion.
• Introduction - background information, aim and problem statements
• Method - describes the method used so precisely that it is possible for the reader to follow and repeat the research process.
• Results - presentation of the results in text and optionally with tables, charts, and figures.
• Discussion - this section discusses the research results and the principles, relationships, or generalizations which are certified by the study's results. Possible weaknesses in the study are discussed here.
• Reference list - all the documents that the author referred to shall be included in the reference list.