For those working on research in education, a short typology of article categories or traditions in scholarly publications can be helpful. For purposes of this article, only works published in peer-reviewed or refereed journals are discussed. Within those peer-reviewed journals, readers can find a number of approaches or types of articles. Often, really effective articles draw on many or even all these traditions or types, but there is usually one primary focus or tradition. The catch is that most articles do not explicitly indicate what type of article it is.
This Suite 101 article provides a thumbnail overview of article types in educational journals and peer-reviewed venues. Those new to the field of educational publication and research may be confused by the range of articles and purposes they serve. The mainstay, it can be argued, is original research and studies reported in peer-reviewed journals and other venues.
Original Research or Studies
A study usually reports a planned inquiry into a given phenomenon. These are the foundation of most of the other types of articles.
It may help to know a bit about how original research studies are reported in scholarly literature. Often, the popular conception of research is that it is the product or result of any activities where a person consults other sources of information in library, on the Internet, or via some other source. However, a researcher at a university or other institution often has in mind original inquiry or replication of original inquiry that is then reported in a professional journal. This is a different concept of what "research" may mean and it implies specific steps accepted by other researchers and scholars in deriving conclusions. In many published reports of original research, the work is reported in defined steps.
Sometimes the section headings for each step vary in the published report of original research, and some elements occur in a different order. However, most studies include these basic elements.
- An introduction that often includes a statement of purpose, hypothesis, or research question.
- A review of existing literature on the topic
- A methods section telling who was involved in the study (participants), what instruments were used, and how data were analyzed. This part is important to readers of original research because it helps define how the research results or findings might be useful in other contexts, how reliable the results might be, and so on.
- A findings or results section describes data and puts it in context of the research question or hypothesis.
- A discussion and/or implication sections where the authors talk about what their research means. This section may include what are called "limitations" which tell how a study may or may not be applied in other contexts as the authors understand it. Limitations are sometimes found in other sections of the article.
- A conclusion that ties it all together.
Other Types of Articles Found in Professional Journals
Not all articles appearing in professional journals report original research. Some other types of articles are described, below.
Literature reviews – Almost all the other types of articles described here include some kind of literature review; that is, a review of what others have written on the topic. Sometimes literature reviews stand alone without describing any new study done by the authors. The approach to writing a literature review is usually well-planned and focused rather than just an attempt to include everything written on a given topic. Some journals publish only reviews of literature.
Policy – These articles or documents are much like literature reviews, but often they also examine existing policies and attempt to situate them in terms of how policy decisions are implemented or might be implemented at the local, state, or federal level. Some recent policy documents include Reading Next, Writing Next, the Report of the National Reading Panel, policy statements of the International Reading Association, and so on. Associations and professional societies that publish journals sometimes publish their policies in their journals.
Theory – These articles often attempt to draw broad conclusions from a substantial review of literature, but they go well beyond this. Typically, the author will have a kind of lens that focuses the discussion (and opens the door for competing points of view). In popular culture, theory just means a “guess;” however, a theory presented in a professional journal is a substantiated and documented model of a given phenomenon that explains some aspect of the field (e.g., education) in question. It may predict future behavior or conditions, as well.
Strategies and pedagogy – Many articles attempt to implement research studies by describing how findings and results from research can be put into practice. Sometimes these articles describe programs, and sometimes these articles evaluate the strategy or program. In these types of articles, it is especially important to note what support exists for the use of the strategy or pedagogical practice.
Commentary – Commentary is often built on individual experience. Assertions often lack empirical evidence beyond the writer’s own perceptions as support. However, expert commentary can be very thoroughly thought-out work based on years of reading, observation, and discussion. Sometimes commentary helps frame important discussions in the field.
While the typology of articles presented here does not explain every category of article readers of peer-reviewed journals might find, it may help define and provide context for many of the articles readers might encounter.
Read more about how to write for educational publications.
Tom Wolsey - Tom Wolsey, Ed.D., is an educator and author. His articles on literacy have appeared in professional publications such as Action in ...
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