Scholarly articles include original studies and review articles that contribute to the current scholarship on a given topic. They are written by experts for other experts and are published in journals, many of which are peer-reviewed, meaning that they have been reviewed by other experts before being published.
In the Sciences, researchers will be sharing the results of experiments. In the Social Sciences, researchers will be sharing the results of interviews, surveys, etc. The table below describes the components of scholarly articles in the Sciences and Social Sciences. The majority of articles in these disciplines will have the sections listed below.
Scholarly articles in the Arts and Humanities may read more like essays, rather than reports on scientific experiments, since scholars are making logical arguments based on the evidence they have researched and analyzed. They won't necessarily have labels like those for the Sciences and Social Sciences articles.
| Abstract | Brief summary of the article, including research question, methodology and results. |
| Introduction | Background information about the topic, leading up to why this study is being done, and may include a brief literature review. |
| Methods | Description of how the study procedures, set-up and how data was collected. |
| Results/Findings | Presentation of the data from the study. This section often includes tables, charts, or other visualizations of the data. |
| Discussion | Analysis of the data and how the study relates to existing knowledge of the topic. The authors evaluate whether their results answer their research question. |
| Conclusion | The authors wrap up the article by discussion how their study contributes to the research on this topic and outline future potential research questions or studies. |
| References | List of resources that the authors consulted when developing their research and subsequently cited in their article. |
| Criteria | Scholarly Journal | Trade Magazine | Popular Magazine |
| Sample Journal / Magazine |  |
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| Sample Article from Journal / Magazine |
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| Audience | Academics and professionals | People in the business | General public |
| Authors | Experts or specialists. Unpaid. | Staff writers, industry specialists, or vendor representatives. Paid. | Journalists, staff writers, or freelance writers. Paid. |
| Editorial Review | Journal editorial board and peer reviewers. Unpaid. | Professional Editors. Paid. | Professional Editors. Paid. |
| References / Works Cited | Almost always | Sometimes | Rarely |
Modeled after NCSU Libraries "Scholarly & Popular Materials" tutorial.