Types of Scientific Communication

Research articles

• a journal article in it’s original form, before it is peer reviewed or typeset by a journal

• discusses the authors’ original research, offers thoughtful analysis of the results, and cites relevant papers from other authors that relate to the research

• will not report on original research, but will outline the current state of research in a particular field, citing the appropriate literature and connecting the various pieces of research together. Generally peer reviewed.

Conference paper abstract

• the research presented as posters or PowerPoint presentations at a conference that doesn't have a formal write up published after the fact.

• items that are distributed or published outside of the traditional journal and book publishers

• can be published in book form in a volume referred to as the “Proceedings of Conference X.” Sometimes these papers will go through peer review

Dissertations/Thesis

• Articles in these publications may be several pages long and include a few references, but they are usually summarizing research published in other publications or reporting on industry news

• These short pieces would be reviewed by editors or possibly peer-reviewers, and published in a subsequent journal issue

• the final products that result from research conducted for a PhD or a Masters degree. While they undergo exhaustive review/marking, they wouldn’t be considered “peer-reviewed”.

Blog posts

• These articles can be well researched and include a lot of citations to the peer reviewed literature, or simple items without citations.

• can be a great way to get involved in the scientific community...potential for communicating science quickly and effectively

• a journal article in it’s original form, before it is peer reviewed or typeset by a journal

Pre-print

• a journal article after peer review but before typesetting

• a journal article in it’s original form, before it is peer reviewed or typeset by a journal

• the final products that result from research conducted for a PhD or a Masters degree

Conference proceedings – long papers

• These papers can be published in book form in a volume referred to as the “Proceedings of Conference X.” Sometimes these papers will go through peer review, and sometimes they won’t

• a criticism of a published journal article-these short pieces would be reviewed by editors or possibly peer-reviewers, and published in a subsequent journal issue

• largely refers to items that are distributed or published outside of the traditional journal and book publishers

Technical report

• Government agencies and NGO’s often do scientific work. The reports they produce are not often peer reviewed, but can be an important part of the scientific literature

• often include several pages of prose describing the methods used to create the maps, the data that inform the results, and the interpretations that result from the data

• describe and interpret the primary research published in the journal articles

Gray literature

• individual chapters that could be considered primary research articles

• largely refers to items that are distributed or published outside of the traditional journal and book publishers

• article after peer review but before typesetting

Post-Print

• article after peer review but before typesetting

• describe and interpret the primary research published in the journal articles

• an article expressing the authors view about a particular issue

Article comments (formal)

• can be published as stand alone publications, supplements to journal articles or books, or parts of technical reports from government agencies or NGO’s

• summarizing research published in other publications or reporting on industry news

• criticism of a published journal article, reviewed by editors or possibly peer-reviewers, and published in a subsequent journal issue