A scientific article is one of the required documents for obtaining an academic degree. Therefore, the requirements for its format are constantly changing and becoming more stringent. A scientific article is a logically complete study of a problem in a particular field of science. Scientists use the scientific method to conduct research and write the article.
There are different types, classifications, and styles of scientific articles, but they all share a common structure. Articles generally consist of the following parts:
- The title or heading of an article is the structural component of a scientific work. Its key features are content and brevity. By looking at the title, the reader should understand the article's topic. The title of the publication, like the text of the entire scientific work, should be written in a scholarly style. The title should contain keywords that convey the main idea of the article. The title of the article must be translated into English with high quality, without the use of transliterations.
- The abstract of a scientific paper is a brief description of the article. The author writes this section of the article after the work has been completed. It describes the article's topic, the problematic, the purpose of the work, and the final results. The author must also highlight what is new in the material compared to what has been studied previously and presented in other scientific papers. The abstract must be written in both Russian and English.
- Keywords are a set of key terms that convey the meaning of an article. They help readers find the scientific article in electronic databases. Keyword terms are included after the abstract. Depending on the requirements of the journal where the author will publish their work, the number of keywords may range from 4 to 8. They are also written in Russian and English.
- The introduction is the introductory information. Here, the article's topic is presented in more detail. The author explains why the study was conducted, its purpose, and its theoretical and practical significance. It is essential to indicate which studies have already been conducted that are significant in this area. Problems that have not yet been addressed in previous studies are highlighted. This section also includes the purpose and object of the study. The paper should present the key objective for which the article was written. The introduction specifies the object of the study—the material used for the study. It is also necessary to describe the relevance of the chosen topic—its importance at the time of writing. The article's novelty—what distinguishes it from the results obtained by other authors on similar topics. A literature review—existing works on the topic under consideration—is essential. It is important not only to list the references but also to provide a critical overview of the research results obtained by different authors.
- The main body. This section describes in full the methods used to conduct the study, presents the research itself, and concludes with the results. The results should be comprehensive, allowing the reader to follow the stages of the study and evaluate the validity of the author's conclusions. This is the largest section of the work—the core of the article.
- The conclusion is a brief summary of the results obtained. It briefly describes the objective achieved and presents the main ideas. In the conclusion, it is necessary to present all the results obtained from the study, draw conclusions, and provide recommendations for practical applications of this work.
There are different types of scientific articles. They are classified according to the subject being studied and the methods used in the research.
Types of scientific articles (review articles, scientific-theoretical, scientific-practical)
- Review articles are scientific works that present an overview of the work of scientists on the topic being researched by the author. The author analyzes the research conducted by other scientists and draws conclusions based on it.
- Scientific theoretical articles are works in which authors analyze current issues on a chosen topic, identify their patterns, and describe the causes in detail.
- Scientific and practical articles are works that describe experiments conducted by the author. They present the results of the research in detail and also indicate how it can be applied in practice.
Classification by style (analytical, research, scientific and journalistic)
There are different classifications of scientific articles by style:
- An analytical article is a research paper that analyzes the factors that make it possible to solve a scientific problem. Here, the author provides the initial data used in the initial stage and analyzes how the facts and patterns are interconnected. Its distinctive feature is the author's use of generally accepted research methods. An analytical article involves reasoning along the lines of "if à then." Such works must be written strictly in a scientific style, so the author must use specialized terms and definitions.
- A research article is a logically coherent study. Such a work must have an introduction, which describes the hypotheses and reasons that prompted the author to conduct the study, as well as the expected results. The author's experiment must be presented to the reader, demonstrating the methodology used to collect data and conduct observations. The results and conclusions of the study are also important. A characteristic feature of such a research paper is a visual demonstration of the experiments, presented in diagrams, tables, graphs, etc.
- A scientific-journalistic article is a research paper that combines scientific and journalistic styles. Its main distinction is its more free-form presentation of information, making it accessible to a wider audience, not just academics.
It's worth noting that there's another classification of scientific articles by type, and it's considered a separate category: reviews. These reviews analyze the work of scientists on a given topic. In such a work, the author can express their opinion on the issue under consideration.
Types of scientific articles by publication type
The status of a researcher will be determined by the reputation of the journal in which he or she publishes his or her work.
- Collections presented following the conferencesConferences often ask participants to submit abstracts of their research. By compiling these abstracts, a collection is created, presenting the materials received from all conference participants.
- University publicationsA particular university's media outlets publish not only student work but may also feature various educational or entertaining materials. Publishing your work in such a publication is easier, but their status is not high enough for senior academics.
- Popular science newspapersAnyone who is not a student or teacher can submit their work here, thereby demonstrating their work to a wider audience.
- Well-known scientific journals (HAC, RINTS). Only degree candidates may publish their work in such publications. Authors must submit highly original material, as well as properly cited references and a carefully compiled bibliography.
In summary, preparing and writing a scientific article is a process that requires strict adherence to the rules for composing the content of the article, proper formatting, logical presentation, and demonstrating literacy. A scientific article must contain facts supported by references, and the author must demonstrate their own research.
