There are different types of journal articles - some present original research, others review the academic literature on a topic, while others might be opinion pieces.

Original research versus reviews

Original research is in most cases a new contribution to knowledge and usually takes the form of a report/study written by the researchers who carried out the study. They will usually outline a methodology (a clear and concise explanation of how they went about the research) and will present and discuss their results and conclusions. Review articles on the other hand survey and synthesise the research on a topic carried out previously. Their purpose is to review and summarise existing evidence.

Quantitative or qualitative research

Quantitative research is based upon numerical, statistical or measurable data. The results are usually expressed in numbers, graphs, statistical tables etc. Qualitative research is designed to gauge actual experiences, attitudes, behaviours and motivations and is based on evidence gathered via behavioural observation, interviews, focus groups, questionnaires etc i.e. the data used is mainly non-numerical. Authors may take a mixed methods approach, using both quantitative and qualitative data.

Practitioner and professional journals

Depending on your subject area, you may also need to refer to practitioner or professional journals and magazines. These are usually targeted at a very specific and specialized audience. They are unlikely to be peer reviewed, but contain information such as news, feature articles, comments, and interviews. They can be a useful source of examples and case studies from practice. Examples of these which we have at QMU include Education Digest, Billboard Magazine, Advertising Age, Times Higher Education, Travel Weekly, Gaming News and many more.

Acknowledgement: Content adapted from Cardiff University Library Service (2024) 'Critical evaluation: reading and critically analysing a journal article'. Licensed under CC4.0.