Skip to Main Content



FS HN 203: Contemporary Issues in FS & HN

This guide is designed to help FSHN 203 students locate articles and then use Mendeley to move article citations into a Word document for class assignments.

Review Article vs. Research Article

"A research article is a primary source...that is, it reports the methods and results of an original study performed by the authors. The kind of study may vary (it could have been an experiment, survey, interview, etc.), but in all cases, raw data have been collected and analyzed by the authors, and conclusions drawn from the results of that analysis.

review article is a secondary source...it is written about other articles, and does not report original research of its own. Review articles are very important, as they draw upon the articles that they review to suggest new research directions, to strengthen support for existing theories and/or identify patterns among existing research studies. Review articles provide a great overview of the existing literature on a topic. If you find a literature review that fits your topic, take a look at the references at the end of the article for leads on other relevant articles and books!"

From American Public Library, "What's the difference between a research and a review article?"

Tips for Finding Review Articles

Review articles can be tricky to find, but many databases offer the option to limit search results to Review articles.

Academic Search Ultimate - no longer provides an option to limit to review articles. Add the word Review into your search box - - it will still find some incorrect articles though.

Food Science & Technology Abstracts - click on Advanced Search (below the search box) and look for "ArticleType" - scroll down the list and click on Review.

PubMed - Run a search for your topic first, then use options to limit the results to Review articles. The results list has limits on the left side of the screen - look for Article Type and select Review.

It will remember this limit for all future searches, until you remove it from your search limits.

Ask for help!

If you are having trouble locating review articles or primary research articles - - please ask your librarian for help and search advice. Each topic/database can require slightly different search techniques.

Your Librarian

Profile Photo
Lorrie Pellack
Contact:
Head, Research & Instruction Services Dept.
150c Parks Library
Ames, IA 50011-2140
Phone: 515-294-5569