InfoTrack :: Quality criteria for a scientific article

An article published in a peer reviewed journal… (select one answer)

Organize the sections of a scientific article in their customary order:

Results

Introduction

Materials and methods

References

Discussion

Anna found this article in the PNAS journal (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

Image of a scientific paper

Can she use it for her paper? (select one answer)

Send

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Thanks to Jules, Anna now knows that articles are not all equal, and the importance of evaluating their quality before using them to support a paper.

Scientific journals use a process called peer review to publish articles, requiring the article to be read and reviewed by other scientists in the same field before it is published.

Here are some criteria to consider when evaluating the quality of a scientific article:

Author: Is he/she an authority in the field? Which academic institution does he/she work for?
Editor: Is the editor/journal generalist or specialized? Are the articles reviewed by peers?
Publication date: Is the article still current? Are the data and method still current?
Bibliographic references: Are they numerous and varied (watch out for self-citation)? Are they clear and complete?
Structure and style: Are the language and style nuanced? Do they seem objective? The article should include the following points:
1. abstract
2. introduction
3. methods
4. results
5. discussion
6. conclusion
7. references