Before writing and publishing, it is necessary to know about the different research article types. It is necessary because many students have only heard of original research papers. They take every other article as those and do not pay attention to other types. Students must keep in mind that there are many other types except the original research papers. Those types also do not require the use of experiments to collect the data and research. Yes, the names of those types are perspective, opinion, and commentary articles. You might have heard these names for the very first time. It is why today’s article is all about these types. It will discuss these research articles and how they can be helpful for you in a scientific publication.
What Are Perspective, Opinions, And Commentary Research Articles?
The purpose of every scientific publication is to add something to the existing knowledge. The method of doing so is different. Some do it by publishing perspective articles or opinion articles; others do it by submitting a commentary article to the journals. Before going into how these article types help scientific publications, let’s define them first.
Perspective Research Articles
As the name suggests, this article is about a personal opinion about a recent or previous research study. It is sometimes also called the review of a certain topic. The author reviews the methods and the theories used based on his own assessment in this kind of research article. Perspective articles sometimes also present the latest developments in a research area.
These research articles typically have one or two authors. Their task is to inform the readers about the new scientific developments by publishing them in the top journals. These articles are not only written in the field of science. Other areas include discussing the methods, books or meeting highlights.
An important thing about the publication of this article is that it should present a unique and new idea about the existing research. Without this thing, conducting perspective research and writing this article is useless. It is because it will not get published by the journal. Therefore, to help in your scientific publication, this article must be concise and stress a new and unique point on fundamental concepts. Many assignment writing services UK are working to provide the best help in this article type.
Opinion Research Articles
It sounds the same as the perspective research articles. But in reality, it is not. Opinion research articles are the articles in which the researcher gives his own viewpoint about a theory and hypothesis. The research discusses the potential strengths and weaknesses of the research under study. Simply put, the opinion articles are generally based on constructive criticisms, unlike the perspective and commentary articles. But criticism without evidence is not acceptable. Therefore, while writing an opinion article, make sure that you have enough bits of evidence to support your opinion or criticism.
It is important to note that opinion articles are taken as publications. Some journals welcome opinions from the readers as correspondence. In some cases, the editor of the journal will craft a larger opinion from your short correspondence and publish it as an article. In this way, the opinion articles can help in your scientific publications. Most opinion articles in the journals are no more than 1000 words. Mostly, there is no need for an abstract for these papers. All you need to give is at least five references or evidence of your criticism.
Commentaries
The name of this research piece tells it all. The word “commentary” has been derived from the word “comment,” which means to comment on a published article. Hence, the commentary articles are the research pieces in which an author or writer comments on a newly published research article. The chief editors of different journals nowadays invite such research pieces, but it is not necessary because you can also submit a commentary spontaneously. Many journals now welcome commentary articles and publish them.
The goal of a commentary is to advance the research field. Many journals provide this platform and ask for experts’ perspectives on a certain topic. The author of a commentary has an in-depth knowledge of the topic under review by the journal. The author mainly discusses the present and new viewpoints on the existing problems in the study. He also talks about the implications of the new innovation. He does all this by commenting on the newly published research piece. An important thing to consider while writing commentaries is the tone. Although a commentary is critical by nature, you should be wary of your tone. Be respectful in your comments and ideas.
Which Research Should You Choose?
So, as you can see, I have discussed all the three research pieces in detail above. Now, the only question that remains is which research piece you should choose for your scientific publication. It depends on a number of factors. A brief overview of those is as follows:
- Audience. The audience plays an important role in the success of a scientific publication. So, choose the research piece according to your audience.
- Your goals. Research goals also dictate the type of research piece you can publish. So, always be clear about what you want to achieve through one of these research pieces, then decide.
- Permission. Were you commissioned to write this research piece? If yes, then it is easy to decide which article has asked from you.
Hence, these are some of the points that you need to consider while choosing a research article. If the journal has asked you to write perspective, opinion, or commentary articles, well and good, do it. If this is not the case and you are writing on your own, then check the journal publication requirements. It is because your publication may not be accepted.
Conclusion
Conclusively, perspective, opinion, and commentary articles are three different types of research pieces. You must check the journal publication requirements before getting them published. If you do not do this, your research piece may not be accepted for publication. Anyways, the main point is that these research pieces can help you make a scientific publication.