Difference Between Research Article and Research Paper

This article will discuss both writings formats and discuss Difference Between Research Article and Research Paper.

It’s likely that you will hear a lot about research papers and research articles, whether you are a student at a college or university or working towards a profession.

Both types of writing are common techniques used by educators and businesses to get feedback from coworkers and students on a topic or subject. One must understand each form and how people use it in to differentiate between the two types of writing.

The majority of assignments require a specific working framework and exploration because research is seen as a movement that has gained substantial popularity in the academic world. The research papers and research articles serve as a compilation that is required for the essential certification, as well as for comprehending and demonstrating outstanding aptitude for research and study.

The research articles and research papers are the parts of the writing which need investigation, critical analysis, insight, and presentation of few particular skills from the scientists and students. When the teacher assigns the class to write a research paper, it actually overwhelms the students. Research articles and research papers have many similarities, which causes students to become confused. Here, we shall highlight the fundamental differences between the two terms.

Research Article

What will a researcher or scientist do after they have found the answer to a question or made a discovery they wish to share with the world?

Well, writing a research paper is the ideal way to share your knowledge and expertise with the world. An authentic study topic, together with pertinent findings and data, are all included in a research article. It is published by renowned scientific journals that are concerned with the field of work to which your study relates. You can refer to a research paper as a writing or a paper that informs readers of a new line of enquiry or a discovery that is supported by evidence.

 A research article gets a touch of building with original research, pertinent data, and disclosures. It is a particular study article that informs readers who are worried about the finding being broken or who are looking for information to support the finding.

A research article, according to Simon Fraser University, is a piece of writing that is written about a specific topic. A research article written by an expert in a certain field is frequently written by another expert in the same field. Peer reviews are another term for this kind of writing.

A research article is a concise piece of writing on a certain subject that is typically published in issues or periodicals. Current research on the topic, including new advances, analyses of a technique or item, and brief studies previewing concepts are frequently included.

A Research article may contain details on the most recent techniques or methods in a certain industry.   Peer reviews, case studies, scholarly articles, scientific, and social science articles are further types of research articles. A journal publishes research articles only after conducting a substantial amount of research in the related field. Research articles are classified as primary literature or review articles in the Publication Manual.

Purpose of Research Article

A research article may be a significant source, making it a valuable resource for creating the thesis for the relevant topic. It includes a report on the methods and results of the researchers’ original research.

The type of study conducted may vary (it may take the form of an experiment, interview, meeting, etc.), but in every instance, the researcher gathers the raw data, breaks it down, and then draws conclusions based on the investigations carried out throughout the study.

As a result, each project is different, and regardless of the language you use, your article must be able to effectively convey all of your research and findings.

Format of Research Article

→TITLE

Create a title that is specific enough to summarize the entire article’s content while being understandable. The article’s title ought to be relevant for the target audience.

Article titles, such as “Effect of Alcohol on Academic Performance,” typically describe the article’s topic matter.

→AUTHORS

The initial author of an article is typically considered to be a researcher who conducted the research and produced the paper.

Other people have made significant contributions in writing the research article that is published, and as a result, they are considered authors. Before listing your mentor’s name as a co-author or author, you can get their permission.

→ABSTRACT

It gives readers a sneak peek at the entire study. By allowing other scientists to quickly scan a sizable portion of the scientific literature, they can then choose which research articles they want to study in-depth. A research article’s abstract should be a little less technical than the article’s content.

An abstract must be one paragraph long (between 100 and 250 words), summarizing the objective, methods, results, and conclusion of the study.

Giving all the information in a single paragraph is not very simple. Start by including the overview of what you feel is vital to mention, and then gradually reduce the length by omitting the unimportant details while keeping the crucial information.

In your abstract, avoid using citations or abbreviations. Without any footnotes, it must be readable.

→INTRODUCTION

• What is the objective of your research?

• What are the research questions?

• Which problem your research has addressed?

In order for your reader to comprehend the aim of the topic and what makes it so intriguing, this section of the essay provides a synopsis of the relevant literature.

A two- to four-paragraph introduction is appropriate. Finish it up with a statement that clarifies the question.

→METHODS

This section describes how you will respond to your question. Here, there must be enough information to let the reader understand the research.

Look for related articles that were published before yours to get a sense of this section of the article.

If you have a complicated method, it can be beneficial to include diagrams, flowcharts, or tables to describe how you use it.

Include the relevant moral considerations as well.

Do they permit participation if you use human subjects?

What pain-reduction measures would you adopt if you used animals?

Read More: Population vs Sample | Examples

→RESULTS

This part is a presentation of the findings you came to. If necessary, use graphs and charts; nevertheless, this part should also provide a summary of the key findings.

Don’t discuss the outcomes or speculate as to why anything occurred. None of the information you discovered from research needs to be mentioned.   Employ appropriate techniques to explain the data. Don’t try to distort your facts to make it appear that you have accomplished more than you have.

→TABLES AND GRAPHS

Instead of just stating, “Here are the results that are drawn,” if you are presenting the data in the form of graphs or tables, explain a little bit about what the graphs or tables indicate, such as, “This graph or table represents the activity of enzyme at different temperatures.” 

→DISCUSSION

Mention the most significant findings in discussion. Try to avoid just restating those from the results section.

• How are your findings related to your question?

• Do your data give support to the proposed theory?

• Are the findings in line with the areas you looked at for the article?

Provide reasons if the results are surprising.

• Is there another way to understand the outcomes?

• What additional study is necessary to respond to your question?

• How do your findings relate to the larger context?

→ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The acknowledgements section is optional. You can express gratitude to anyone who helped you during an experiment or who provided any other substantial assistance, such as discussing your methodology or offering suggestions on a manuscript.

→REFERENCES

There are only a handful possible arrangements for this section. You could, for instance, cite the text at main points. Alternatively, include a list of references in alphabetical order at the end of the article.

Research Paper

When referring to research papers, Dr. Jane Simonsen, a history professor, once said, “The work and design are your own, but you can’t do it without relying on the efforts and wisdom of others.”

Simonsen’s assumption is accurate. A research paper is a type of writing that is typically utilized in academic settings by college or university students who have been asked to look into and research a topic before coming to their conclusion.

The use of data from reliable sources to back up the student’s conclusions is both encouraged and frequently necessary.  The length of research paper is affected by the complexity of the topic.   A standard research paper can be anywhere from 50 to 200 pages long.

After gathering all necessary information from sources, a student’s work will be organized into the structure. Teachers frequently use this method to help students develop a balance in their writing abilities while promoting structural discipline and standard formatting.

According to A Research Guide for Students, research papers also use the subject’s original information, and after the student has gathered the data from the investigative stage, they are summarized with a clear and simple analysis and disposition, or thesis. In fact, the thesis statement for most research papers comes from the assigned topic. 

Purpose of Research Paper

Writing an outstanding research paper is not merely a non-related task that you must complete in order to pass the examination. It is a task that teaches you a lot including:

• How to research a specific topic?

• How to fully express your understanding, conclusions, and analysis to a reader?

The more you focus on paper quality while in college or university, the more you’ll need to practice writing and research skills, which will enhance both your analytical and writing abilities. Nevertheless, if you perform poorly, the competition will be weaker, and it’s more possible that you’ll look back on this period and feel regret in the future for having missed your chance. Gaining the advantages of having the best writing abilities is crucial for this reason.

Format for Research Papers

There is a set format for research papers. 

→INTRODUCTION

A brief introduction that often includes an overview of recent literature on the given topic researched and explains the author’s motivation for undertaking the research.  This is significant because it indicates that the authors are aware of the current body of research and intend to contribute to it appropriately and they are not only conducting research on the topics that other people have already conducted.

→METHOD

The authors describe in detail how they can gather and evaluate the data in this section. The statistical analysis is also provided. The method section is very thorough since it is crucial for other researchers to be able to verify or employ the same methods.

Read More: Reliability vs Validity | Examples

→RESULTS

The findings of your analysis can be discussed in this section. To demonstrate your findings, use graphs and charts.

→DISCUSSION

Here, the authors provide an explanation of how the results were interpreted as well as a theory outlining the significance of current and future research.

→REFERENCES

References and citations can be added here. References are genuine books and articles that authors use to conduct their research and support their arguments.

Difference Between Research Paper and Research Article

Research Paper	Research Article
Written by a student at a university or college	Written by a researcher, expert or scientist
Done under the supervision of a supervisor i.e. teacher or instructor	Done with other researchers known as co-authors.
Focused on Research questions and objectives	Broad in scope
Doesn’t contain extensive reference list	Contains extensive reference list
Exclusively written for college or university purposes and published in a conference and presented as an oral presentation	Gets published to periodicals, journals or magazines, peer-reviewed journal
Longer in length	Shorter in length
isn’t authored to present original research it shows empirical data	present original research
Used to educate a student on how to write clearly and effectively about a topic	Used to educate the reader on a subject or topic
Student’s name, class, date, and instructor all in the left corner of the paper, while the title is centered.	Title is at the top and center. The author/s names will be below, and the format will follow much as a journal article would.

1- A student at a university or college generally writes research papers as part of their coursework. A research paper is completed for review by a teacher or instructor. Whereas, a research article is a piece of writing that has recently undergone research or review by a professional in the field.

2- The number of references used also differs slightly. A reader can typically anticipate finding a lengthy bibliography in a research article, whereas a research paper won’t call for a reference list so extensive.

3- A research paper isn’t published in any publication unless it’s a guideline on how to write one, whereas a research article is submitted to periodicals, magazines or peer-reviewed journal.

4- A research article examines a potential or existing concept and discusses its effects. A thesis may be provided in a research paper, although it will not be as detailed.

5- Both differs in terms of formatting and length. A Longer in length whereas research article might be 15 pages long, but it’s not always the case. The structure used to convey the research will be different from that of a research paper, which might use double spacing and indenting. In contrast to a journal article, which explains its original findings to the reader, a research paper is written to demonstrate empirical data rather than to provide original research.

6- The title of the research paper will be centered, and the student’s name, class, date, and teacher will be in the left corner. Whereas the title will be top and centre in the research article. The names of the author(s) are listed below.

7- Research paper is for writing practice, while the research article is a specific practice for other practitioners. A research paper is more utilized to teach students how to write clearly and effectively on a subject, whereas the research article is designed to educate the reader on a subject or topic.

Other articles

Please read through some of our other articles with examples and explanations if you’d like to learn more about research methodology.