Literature Reviews: Finding Reviews & Articles

Scholarly or peer-reviewed articles in social sciences feature original research by experts to expand the field of study. Peer-reviewed articles:

• Undergo a process of peer review where other experts who work in the same field evaluate the methodology and evidence presented in the article.

• Are aimed at scholars, researchers, students, and others looking for a deeper understanding of issues.

• Are published in journals by universities, professional associations, or academic publishers.

• Usually consist of 6 or more pages.

• Always include citations and bibliographies.

► Further clues lie in the article type:

• Empirical articles feature research based on direct or indirect observed and measured phenomena. 
  • These articles will report using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods to analyze and interpret data.
  • Empirical articles will have specific sections that should generally include an abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology and/or results section, discussion section, conclusion, and bibliographic references.

• Theoretical articles will analyze and make connections between empirical studies to advance a theoretical position and include bibliographic references.

• Review articles (i.e. articles from Annual Review of Sociology) cover major advancements in a field (such as theoretical and/or methodological developments) as well as current research in subfields. These articles summarize available literature and include bibliographic references.

• For longer definitions and more article types see: American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Seventh ed., pp. 4-10). American Psychological Association.

Annual Reviews seeks out specific scholars to write review articles to highlight scholarly developments in the sciences & social sciences.