Academic publications

The most common way that academic publications are reviewed is through peer review. Peer review means that independent experts review the publications before they are published. This can be a very extensive process where the author has to revise their text multiple times before it is published.

Peer review is organized by the academic journal for academic articles, by the conference for conference papers and by the publisher for academic specialist literature.

In the database Ulrichsweb you can check if a journal uses peer review to review their articles.

The scientific article has undergone a quality assessment called peer review. It's the journal where the article has been published that is responsible for the review process.

The scientific article follows a specific structure

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Method
• Results
• Discussion
• References

In order to accommodate all these elements, a scientific article is at least 5 pages long and can be up to 25 pages approximately. 

There are different types of scientific articles.

The original article presents an empirical study for the first time and includes the research process and the results of of the study.

The review article includes an analysis and interpretation of previously published research within in a field.

The theoretical article discusses and develops the theories of a given subject.

A dissertation or a thesis is the final product of a doctoral program. It is a peer-reviewed text of the research carried out by a doctoral student. The university where the doctoral student has carried out their studies is responsible for publishing the dissertation.

A dissertation can vary in scope and execution depending on the subject and purpose, but it's not uncommon to be very extensive and can be longer than 150 pages. There are two different types of dissertations, the doctoral disseration which leads to a PhD, and the licentiate dissertation which is not as extensive and can be seen as a half dissertation.

You may see the abbreviation Diss. somewhere in the reference.

A research report is usually published by the university to which the researcher belongs. Research reports can also be published by companies or other organisations if the research has been done in cooperation with or on behalf of them.

Most often the research report is reviewed by the researcher's own university. It can therefore be published quicker then for example the scientific article.

Researchers can present their research at conferences. What the researcher has talked about at the conference is occasionaly published in conference proceedings or as a conference paper.

The results in conference proceedings can be more uncertain than in a scientific article and has not always been reviewed. On the other hand, conference proceedings often contain the very latest research. To check if a conference proceeding has been reviewed, for example through peer review, you can look up the conference. 

Academic specialist literature are books in which researchers have published their research for the first time. Academic specialist literature contains, for example, scientific studies or research reviews and are usually reviewed by the publisher.

It can sometimes be difficult to determine if you are dealing with this type of publication. One tip is to take a closer look at the content, for example, is there a scientific approach?