Not all scholarly articles are the same. In fact, there are several different types of scholarly articles. Two types that you may see more frequently are empirical or primary research articles and review articles.

Empirical/Primary Research Articles

An empirical study aims to gain new knowledge on a topic through direct or indirect observation and research. These include quantitative or qualitative data and analysis. They are written by the scientists who performed the experiments - these articles include original research data. For this reason, they are considered primary articles. In science, an empirical article will often include the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

Hint: Look in the title or abstract for words like study, research, measure, subjects, data, effects, survey, or statistical which might indicate empirical research.

Example: Successful herbivore attack due to metabolic diversion of a plant chemical defense

The authors are reporting on an experiment they conducted themselves
The article includes a Methods, Results, and Discussion section
The article includes tables and graphs of data collected by the authors

Review Articles

These articles collect and analyze primary research on a particular topic from other scientists. These are useful to familiarize yourself with an idea in a body of research. Review articles summarize the findings of others studies or experiments and attempt to identify trends or draw broader conclusions.

Hint: Look for the word 'review' in the title, abstract, introduction, or subject terms

Although review articles are not primary research, they can be very helpful. They can give you a sense of the conversation happening among scientists and scholars on your topic. They also will lead you to many primary research articles. Look at the references!

Example: Plant Defense against Insect Herbivores

The second to last paragraph of the articles says that it is a 'review' and discusses the purpose of the review
The article does not include a Methods, Results, or Discussion section
The article has an extensive list of references

For more information about other types of scholarly articles visit: http://guides.library.cornell.edu/scholit

The definitions on this page are adapted from the Cornell University Library research guide on Scholarly Literature Types