Watch this short video to learn about types of scholarly articles, including research articles and literature reviews!

Not in the mood for a video? Read on!

What's the difference between a research article and a review article?

Research articles, sometimes referred to as empirical or primary sources, report on original research. They will typically include sections such as an introduction, methods, results, and discussion.

Here is a more detailed explanation of research articles.

Review articles, sometimes called literature reviews or secondary sources, synthesize or analyze research already conducted in primary sources. They generally summarize the current state of research on a given topic.

Here is a more detailed explanation of review articles.

The video above was created by the Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries.

The defintions, and the linked detailed explanations, are paraphrased from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed.

The linked explanations are provided by the Mohawk Valley Community College Libraries.