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What is a scientific article

Overview

A scientific article is a structured text in which an author presents the results of research, analysis, observation, or experiment in an academic form.

Main content

In detail

A scientific article is one of the main ways to present a research result to the scholarly community. Its task is not merely to express an opinion, but to record the work in such a way that other specialists can understand what the author actually did, assess the quality of the research, use the results in further work, verify the conclusions, and compare them with other data.

A scientific article usually includes

  • title;
  • abstract;
  • introduction;
  • methods;
  • results;
  • discussion;
  • conclusions;
  • references.

In everyday usage, terms such as scientific paper, research article, manuscript, and journal article are often mixed up. However, there are nuances between them. For example, a manuscript is usually a text before publication or at the submission stage, whereas a journal article is the publication format of the paper.

What makes an article scientific is research logic

  • there is a question or problem;
  • there is a method;
  • there are data or arguments;
  • there are conclusions;
  • there is a connection with the scholarly literature.

What is important to remember

A scientific article is not just a text on a topic, but a formatted research communication intended for professional evaluation and use.

Official and useful sources
Source

NCBI / StatPearls. How To Read A Scientific Manuscript.

Open source
Source

Springer Nature. References & Article Types.

Open source
Source

APA Style. Abstract and Keywords Guide.

Open source