A research article is a peer-reviewed, scholarly publication that presents original findings from a study or investigation. These articles are written by researchers, scholars, or practitioners and follow a structured format—often including an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, and discussion.
Research articles are different from news stories, opinion pieces, or general web content because they:
Report new knowledge based on data or evidence
Use systematic methods such as surveys, experiments, interviews, or data analysis
Engage with existing scholarship through citations
Undergo peer review, where experts evaluate the quality and credibility of the work
If you are writing a paper, conducting a literature review, or searching for reliable academic evidence, research articles are one of the most important sources you’ll use.
A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis). (Purdue University)
A peer-reviewed or refereed journal is one in which manuscripts submitted by authors are reviewed by experts on the topic before being accepted for publication in the journal.
Articles in some scholarly and professional journals are not peer-reviewed, but are selected by an editor or board. So all peer-reviewed journals are scholarly; but not all scholarly journals are peer-reviewed.
Peer-reviewed journals can be identified in sources such as our Find a Journal.
Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Primary sources are original, firsthand materials created during the time or event you are studying (such as letters, diaries, laws, photographs, or archival records). Secondary sources are interpretations or analyses created after the fact by scholars or researchers (such as textbooks, journal articles, or history overviews). Primary sources show what happened in the moment; secondary sources help explain, interpret, and place those events in context.
Using Primary and Secondary Sources in Education Research
When researching education topics, primary sources, such as historical school records, policies, interviews, classroom observations, or original research data, help you understand what happened directly within educational settings. Secondary sources, like scholarly articles, books, literature reviews, and policy analyses can help you interpret those primary materials, understand broader trends, and see how experts have analyzed similar questions. Using both together strengthens your work: primary sources provide evidence, while secondary sources offer context, explanation, and scholarly perspectives.
These videos were created by the University Library at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Use our The Find a Journal to find information about a journal, including whether it is peer-reviewed and the extent of our electronic holdings.
Information about journals in accounting, business, computer science, education health administration, management, psychology and psychiatry.