There are many different parts of research articles. The key parts are outlined below.
Title
The title of the article is a summary of the study. It may include the research method used.
Authors and affiliations
Who wrote the article and their organisation or university affiliation.
Plain language summary
Plain language summaries are summaries of scientific literature that are easy to read without technical language. They are valuable as they communicate scientific and complex information to a broader audience. This makes it more accessible.
Abstract
A summary of the article including the background, study aims, methods, results and discussion. It informs a potential reader whether it is relevant and of interest to them.
Introduction
The introduction offers important background to the topic of the study. It tells the purpose of the study, what it aims to achieve, and how it will fill a gap.
Methods
This section describes the how to do the study. For example, the systematic review process, how participants were recruited, data collection methods, and methods of data analysis.
Results
The results section reports the findings from the study. It is can include charts, tables and graphs.
Discussion
The discussion explains the results and the author’s interpretation of the results. It links the results back to the research question and aim. It also explains what this means going forward.
Conclusion
The conclusion sums up the article. It mentions the limitations of the study, potential biases, and suggestions for further research.
References
References are the acknowledgement of all the sources researchers use in their work. These include journal articles and books. These may appear throughout the text as numbers or as a surname and year of publication in brackets. A full reference list appears at the end of the research publication.