Components of a journal article
While academic journal articles will vary depending on discipline or type of research, they usually contain the following elements:
Title
- The title of the article should give some idea of the topic.
Author details
- Author names will usually be listed in full under the title.
- Author affiliations may be listed under the title or at the end of the article.
- Conflicts of interest held by the authors or other involved parties may also be listed towards the end of an article.
Abstract
- An abstract provides an outline of what the article is about, addressing:
- why it was written
- how the research was conducted
- an indication of the findings.
Keywords
- Keywords are assigned by the author or database to identify the subject of the article.
Introduction
- An introduction summarises:
- why the research was conducted
- the aims of the research
- what will be covered in the article.
Literature review
- This section provides an overview of existing research that:
- justifies the need for the article’s own research
- positions the article’s research within a gap in existing literature
- introduces theories and provides context to the audience.
- In secondary review articles, the literature review is the focus of the research instead of the background to primary research and is therefore detailed in the methodology and results sections.
Methodology
- In primary research articles, this is a detailed section describing how the research was conducted, the reasons why certain methodologies were used, and limitations of the chosen approach.
- In secondary review articles, this section may outline the search strategy, which databases were used, and how results were analysed. It may also include the research methodology used to construct a case study.
Results
- This section presents the outcomes of the research and may include charts and data.
Discussion
- This section includes observations from applying the chosen methodology, interpretation and analysis of findings, and reflections on insights gained from the research.
Conclusion
- This section provides a summary of the article, with particular focus on key findings and suggestions for future research.
Reference list
- A reference list contains the details of all information sources cited in the article.
- A bibliography additionally includes suggested further reading and information. Note that a bibliography is not the same as a reference list. Academic literature should have a reference list, although some academic books may have a bibliography as well.
Appendices
- An appendix provides supplementary details, usually regarding how the research was carried out or analysed.
- This section may include search strategies, survey or interview questions, or full sets of results.