*What is Academic article

Academic articles are written by professionals in a given field. They are edited by the authors' peers and often
take years to publish. Their language is formal and will contain words and terms typical to the field. The
authors name will be present, as will their credentials. There will be a list of references that indicate where
the author obtained the information s/he is using in the article.

Academic articles can be found in periodicals similar to the Journal of Psychology, Childhood Education or The
American Journal of Public Health.

*Characteristics of Academic article

Characteristics of Scholarly Articles and Journals

The following characteristics list provides features of a Scholarly Article:

*Often have a formal appearance with tables, graphs, and diagrams

*Always have an abstract or summary paragraph above the text; may have sections decribing methodology

*Articles are written by an authority or expert in the field

*The language includes specialized terms and the jargon of the discipline

*Titles of scholarly journals often contain the word "Journal", "Review", "Bulletin", or "Research"

*Usually have a narrow or specific subject focus

*Contains original research, experimentation, or in-depth studies in the field

*Written for researchers, professors, or students in the field

*Often reviewed by the author's peers before publication (peer-reviewed or refereed)

*Advertising is minimal or none

The most important characteristic of an academic or scholarly article is that it has to pass an academic quality
assessment before it can be published in an academic journal. Before an article is accepted for publication, it
has to be reviewed by researchers working in the same field (referees). This control process is called peer-
reviewing and is designed to guarantee the academic standard of an article.
*Types and elements of academic article

THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACADEMIC/SCHOLARLY ARTICLES:

Original articles consist of study reports and describe results obtained from research for the first time

Review articles are critical evaluations of studies that have already been published

Theoretical articles are reports in which the authors are trying to formulate new theories based on existing
research

USUALLY AN ACADEMIC/SCHOLARLY ARTICLE COMPRISES THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS:

Abstract - The abstract contains a short summary of the article as well as a description of the objective,
method, result and conclusion of the study. Keywords (or subject words), which identify the contents of the
article, are also given in the abstract.

Introduction - This is a general description of the background to the research. The objective and research
questions are presented, together with the delimitations of the study.

Method and material - Descriptions of the method(s) used in doing the research should be so detailed and
precise that stages in the research process could be followed and reproduced by the reader. The methods
ought to be reasonable for and appropriate to that which is being studied.

Results - Here the results of the research are presented. Important data are either given textual form or by
using tables and figures. Even unexpected or negative results are presented.

Discussion - The discussion is an assessment of the results. Methodological considerations as well as the way
in which the results compare to earlier research in the field are discussed.

References - All documents mentioned in the article should be included in the bibliography, so that the reader
is able to refer to the original sources.

*How to write academic article -steps

*Purpose of academic article

• Conley (2012) claims that the purpose of academic article is to foster communication amongst scholars, to
provide a proving ground for practical and theoretical ideas, and to document emerging scientific knowledge.

• The purpose of academic journals is to facilitate scholarly communication, filter for errors, and maintain the
record of scientific advance.