Review article
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A review article is an article that summarizes the current state of understanding on a topic.[1] A review article is generally considered a secondary source since it may analyze and discuss the method and conclusions in previously published studies. It resembles a survey article or, in news publishing, overview article, which also surveys and summarizes previously published primary and secondary sources, instead of reporting new facts and results. Survey articles are however considered tertiary sources, since they do not provide additional analysis and synthesis of new conclusions. Academic publications that specialize in review articles are known as review journals.
Review articles teach about:
- the main people working in a field
- recent major advances and discoveries
- significant gaps in the research
- current debates
- ideas of where research might go next
A meta-study sumarizes a large number of already published experimental or epidemiological studies and provides statistical analysis of their result.
Academic publishing[edit]
Review articles in academic journals analyze or discuss research previously published by others, rather than reporting new experimental results.[2][3] An expert's opinion is valuable, but an expert's assessment of the literature can be more valuable. When reading individual articles, readers could miss features that are apparent to an expert clinician-researcher. Readers benefit from the expert's explanation and assessment of the validity and applicability of individual studies.[4]
Review articles come in the form of literature reviews and, more specifically, systematic reviews; both are a form of secondary literature.[5] Literature reviews provide a summary of what the authors believe are the best and most relevant prior publications. Systematic reviews determine an objective list of criteria, and find all previously published original papers that meet the criteria; they then compare the results presented in these papers.
Some academic journals likewise specialize in review of a field; they are known as review journals.
The concept of "review article" is separate from the concept of peer-reviewed literature. A review article, even one that is requested or "peer-invited", will be either peer-reviewed or non-peer-reviewed depending on how submissions are treated.[6][7]
Writing review articles can be a popular task among students. At times, teachers from schools and universities assign this task[8]
Impact[edit]
According to a 2021 study in the American Sociological Review, "papers cited by formal review articles generally experience a dramatic loss in future citations. Typically, the review gets cited instead of the specific articles mentioned in the review." The study identifies an exception to this trend: articles that are characterized by the review as being bridges between clusters of scholarship tend to get disproportionate future attention.[9]
Difference between a research article and a review article[edit]
Research articles form the basis of review articles. Review articles use the original information presented in research articles to draw conclusions and pose suggestions for future research.[10] There are a few main differences:
- A research article presents original information from the perspective of the author, whereas a review articles analyses that statement and information.
- A research article presents original content, whereas a review article synthesises that content and makes sense of it within the context of the discipline.
- A research article has more narrow parameters on what is included (often depending on the journal it is being pitched to), whereas a review article is more open, being able to incorporate multiple research papers albeit still being contained within journal guidelines[11]
See also[edit]
- Case series, sometimes called a clinical review because it reviews or summarizes the records for a series of patients at a single medical clinic
- Living review
References[edit]
- ^ "What's a "Review Article?"". The University of Texas. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
- ^ John Siegel. "Have I Found A Scholarly Article?". Archived from the original on 2013-01-28.
- ^ "What is a Scholarly Journal?". Lib.sfu.ca. 2013-03-21. Archived from the original on 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
- ^ Melissa L. Rethlefsen, M. Hassan Murad, Edward H. Livingston (September 10, 2014). "Engaging Medical Librarians to Improve the Quality of Review Articles". JAMA. 312 (10): 999–1000. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.648.3777. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.9263. PMID 25203078.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link) - ^ "Scientific Literature". The Regents of the University of California.
- ^ Durham, William H. (October 2004). "Preface: A "Peer-Invited" Publication". Annual Review of Anthropology. 33 (1): annurev.an.33.090204.100001. doi:10.1146/annurev.an.33.090204.100001. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ Deborah E. De Lange (2011). Research Companion to Green International Management Studies: A Guide for Future Research, Collaboration and Review Writing. Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 1–5. ISBN 978-1-84980-727-2.
- ^ "Article Review Writing".
- ^ McMahan, Peter; McFarland, Daniel A. (2021). "Creative Destruction: The Structural Consequences of Scientific Curation". American Sociological Review. 86 (2): 341–376. doi:10.1177/0003122421996323. ISSN 0003-1224.
- ^ Morgan, Randa Lopez. "Research Guides: NFS 4021 Contemporary Topics in Nutrition: Research Articles vs Review Articles". guides.lib.lsu.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
- ^ "How to write a review article | Writing your paper". Author Services. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
Further reading[edit]
- Woodward, A. M. (1977). "The roles of reviews in information transfer". Journal of the American Society for Information Science. 28 (3): 175–180. doi:10.1002/asi.4630280306.
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