The different types of academic literature
Academic Articles
An academic article is based on research where the objective is to present new findings or give insight into scholarly research questions. The article is written by one or more researchers before it is submitted for peer review by other scholars in their field, then the article is published in an academic journal.
The target audience for academic articles is fellow researchers and other professionals in the academic community. This can be seen for example with the use of subject-specific terminology (jargon). The academic article should have an argumentative structure, contain thorough documentation, and refer to other research. The methodology used to arrive at the conclusion must be shown clearly in the text, and the author should aim for objectivity in their writing. Institutional affiliation to the author, as well as when and where the article was published, should be shown in a clear way.
Peer Review
Peer review means that the article is quality-checked by other scholars within the subject area before publication. The assessment is often carried out anonymously; with theory, method, and results all being reviewed. It is common for the article to go through several rounds of peer review before it is published. Peer review is regarded as the foremost quality standard for academic articles.
Note that even though an article has been published in a scholarly journal, it has not necessarily been peer reviewed, so you should always double-check for peer review yourself. In Oria you can filter (Show only) for peer-reviewed journals in the left-hand menu. In addition, some journals include peer review information on the front page of each article.
Professional Articles
Professional articles, also known as trade articles, differ from academic articles in that they tend to be evaluated by an editor rather than academic scholars. Professional articles often aim to provide insight into prior knowledge, and they are aimed more at fellow professionals who work in a given field than at scholarly researchers.
Literature Reviews
A literature review interprets and assesses knowledge that has emerged in earlier studies, summarises results, and provides a broad introduction to the subject area. Both peer-reviewed literature reviews and systematic reviews fall under this category.
IMRaD
IMRaD is an acronym for Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion. This is a structure that is used in academic articles within many disciplines.
In addition, an academic article should include an abstract, conclusion, correctly formatted reference list, and any attachments. Note that this framework can vary from subject to subject.
Academic journals
Academic journals are released by a publisher or organisation. They have peer review and are written by and for researchers. The language is characterised by subject terminology. The articles refer to earlier research, must present new insights, and should be clearly dated.
In the NPI - Norwegian Publication Indicator academic journals are divided into level 1 and level 2, with level 2 being the highest level.
Many academic journals are available online and VUC subscribes to several scholarly databases where you can search for research articles in a number of academic journals.
Scholarly publishers and books
A scholarly publisher prints peer-reviewed books. The publishers are divided into categories 1 or 2 depending on the academic level, with category 2 being the highest level.
Evaluating publishers and books
You should always be critical of a source before using it and evaluate the sources independently. Remember that new research is always based on earlier research. Check what other books the publisher has released, and who owns the publishing company. Is the publisher for example linked to an institution, such as a college or university? Consider whether the publisher may have primarily commercial interests, or whether the main goal is to contribute to increasing knowledge.
When evaluating the quality of a book, you should find out how the book has been received and discussed by other scholars in the field. The fact that the book has a reference list and that it refers to other sources in the text, helps to create confidence and trust. The book should provide a balanced but thorough and factual presentation of the theme. It is also important to consider whose viewpoints are being represented (or excluded). Is the discussion one-sided, or does it take a broader approach?
You should also check for information about the author. Does the author have formal qualifications, is he affiliated with an institution? See if there is information about the author in the book or look up the author online to check more sources.
You can find more information about evaluating sources below:
At the website Search and Write you can find more information about Source assessment.