The Differences between Review Paper and Research Paper
Review Paper vs Research Paper
Though both the Review Paper and Research Paper aim to bring some unique and effective solution to identified issues, the approaches of both these papers are different. In this article, you will be made aware of all the differences between a Review Paper and Research Paper.
The Intellectual Rigour
In terms of intellectual rigour, scholarship and analysis skills, Review Paper and Research Paper are quite different. Research Paper requires a greater amount of labour, a stronger purpose, and a larger degree of direction to be meaningful. In principle, the Review Paper critically analyses and evaluates the research-based findings of other researchers. Research Paper strives to bring something new to the table, whereas Review Paper investigates and critically validates that attained new knowledge with an extensive count of enlightenment.
It is the intellectual investigative approach that makes Reviews more universal and liable to remain focused on a whole range of media, including software, books, and articles in journals and magazines. The term “Review Paper” refers to a survey of recently published Research Paper on a specialised subject. The Research Paper, on the other hand, is illustrated research work that inclines to offer new findings and discoveries, by answering a specific issue or question.
For instance, if you take the example of ecology in the 21st century, it is obvious that many scholarly Research Papers on the subject will be available. These Research Papers investigated various empirical conditions in the domain of ecology and provided the results to resolve the determined concern of ecology. In the case of a Review Paper on an aspect of ecology, you need to know the secondary sources about the revelations made by others on the subject, particularly in recent times, which are available in the Research Papers.
Review Paper: Data Collection
Review Papers are very specific and are based on critical interpretations and intellectual evaluations of research-based declarations to bring in a comparative understanding about different point of views on the same or relevant topic of concern. Review Papers are more concerned with collecting empirical data-driven research work to attain a better understanding of a particular specialised topic. In the Review Papers, the data collection gets consider only on Secondary sources-
In a way, the Review Paper does not contain an empirical research process but remain highly engaged in shedding lights on the research done by other scholars. These papers critically evaluate and assess the attained knowledge by other scholars.
Review Paper can be exhaustive and stimulating and when the appetite for researching by presenting challenging materials. A major advantage is that the Review Paper summarizes all the relevant literature on the subject, which prevents you from having to read lots of Research Paper.
Research Paper: Data Collection
Research Papers are unique and unlike any other published work, the results being based on data collected from both theoretical approaches and experiments. Research papers use software and data collection methods that are commonly associated with empirical derivations. Researching empirical data require tools like SPSS software, NVivo, for analysis. Research on medical science, physics, chemistry, and life sciences requires an analysis based on authentic experiments, especially in laboratories. In the Research Papers, the data collection can consider either or both Secondary and Primary sources-
In a way, the Research Papers must contain original research, added by reviews of former research led by other scholars. The collected data must undergo critical evaluation for deriving knowledge and offer solutions to the existing concerns.
The Research Papers are much exhaustive than the Review Papers. The reason is that the Research Paper must offer something original and innovative. Research Paper needs brainstorming sessions for new results. On the other hand, the Review paper demands brainstorming sessions for the evolving trending perspectives.
Examples
When it comes to the differences between a Review Paper and Research Paper, it is always better to have specific examples to understand the variations.
Review Paper with example
Let us check Review Papers from the domains of Biomedicine, Management and Civil Engineering.
Biomedical Review Papers
According to the regulations set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (IJCME), the Review Papers in the domain of Biomedicine must compile with the rules led for the authorship, declaration for conflicts of interest, maintaining policies set by the editors, and absolute formatting of the manuscript. Though these are few regulations that are implemented in cross-domain subjects, yet for Biomedical Review Paper, there is the declaration for conflicts of interest must get authentic support. It is in this declaration that anything related to the environment and Life Science must be kept under protection.
Management Review Papers
The Review Paper regulations as set by the Journal of Management (JOM) for Management Papers emphasised that the researcher must consider scholarly empirical and theoretical data to the review. Subjects for publication must be under specified jurisdiction of entrepreneurship, business strategy and policy, organizational behaviour, human resource management, organizational theory. The Journal also emphasised that before the submission on the Editorial desk, the paper gets reviewed by the peers or the colleagues of the scholar. Submissions must get supported by a letter describing Points of Interest, for the specific publication.
Civil Engineering Review Papers
Following the submission regulations as set by the International Review of Civil Engineering (IRECE), it is evident that Review Papers for Civil Engineering demands appropriate submissions of the plan, drawings, and related explanatory diagrams in the paper. Along with the specification of clear language and original idea to approach the specialised topic, the Review Paper in Civil Engineering needs much support from practical grounds of designing and construction. Every argumentative context must be supported by Metadata in the Appendices.
Research Paper with Examples
The Research Papers, especially those developed for meeting the requirements of being a dissertation or a thesis, varies from one University to another. In this article, we have checked the regulations from the Universities of the UK, the Middle East, and the Asian Universities to attain a comprehensive understanding of the Research Paper.
Research Papers for the European Universities
The Research Papers for the Universities in Europe are usually encouraged to get supported by Government funds. The subject areas can vary from Science to humanities to engineering, yet the objective remains very close to the purpose of resolving socio-political and economic issues. Due to such direct demands, the Research Papers in the universities of Europe are usually publicly funded. These Research Papers must abide by the regulations set by Research Policy Network.
Research Papers for the Universities of Middle East
The Research Papers for the universities of the Middle East are partially funded. Most of the universities in the Middle East consider honorary Research Papers. For these universities, the Research Papers need to be innovatively constructed and there is a mandatory regulation of delivering quality based submissions, with absolute maintenance of all kinds of regulations as set by the respective Universities. The regulations in the Middle East vary as per subjects and the demographic selection of the research.
Research Papers for the Asian Universities
The Research Papers for the universities in Asia demands an extensive record of publication led by the researcher. The researcher in specific must be able to show an adequate amount of Review Paper publications to avail a PhD degree. Though this rule varies from one university to another, and as per the demand of the specific nation, still the preference for former Review Paper publication exists. The public funding provisions for the Research Papers in Asian universities are hard to attain.
Number of Pages
For the number of pages, the standard requirements are – New Times Roman font with 12- size and double spaced. The margins of the paper should be 1 inch and the scholar must consider A4 sized paper. However, there are variations on including different paper sizes as per the diagrams, tables or data used in the Review or the Research Paper.
Number of pages in Review Paper
On a standard count, the number of pages in a Review Paper can be between 5 to 15 pages, which would be from 1500 to 4,500 words. This is absolute dependence on the relevance of the topic and the kind of inclusions considered by the scholar.
Number of pages in Research Paper
The number of pages in a Research Paper can start from 30 pages and can extend to 250 pages, which would be 9000 words to 75000 words. The count of the pages relies on the standard of degree and the selected field of research.
In this count for pages, the pages for cover, title, abstract, table of content, index, glossary, references, bibliography, and appendices, are not inclusive.
Time Required
The time required for writing any scholarly paper is always subject to the time the researcher devotes to the process of reading, analysing, brainstorming, revealing, and writing.
Time Required to Develop Review Paper
The Review Paper usually takes lesser time than Research Paper. The time required to develop a Review Paper could be between 2 months to 6 months. As the Review Paper relies on secondary sources, it becomes convenient for the scholar to collect data and review them as per the objectives of the Review Paper. This timeline includes the time for editorial rejections and further modifications of the Review Paper.
Time Required to Develop Research Paper
Research Papers are subject to take more time than Review Papers. As the Research Paper investigates ground realities and is often inclusive of field works and lab experiments, the scholars take as much as 3 to 6 years for the accomplishment of the Research Paper. This timeline includes the time for Supervisor instructions, revisions as per feedbacks, collection of empirical data from primary sources and necessary modifications to meet all the requirements of the University.
Writing a Standards
The writing standards for both Review Paper and Research Paper demands error-free comprehensive language with no plagiarism. The content in both cases must be very original.
Writing a Standard Review Paper
Write a powerful introduction with accurate background information. In the body, include results from a recent Research Paper and comment on the value of the knowledge. Point out the methods undertaken, describe the figures and tables used, and state the controversies that arise. Summarize and discuss the information gathered, and explain their significance. End with a list of references.
Writing a Standard Research Paper
When you partake in an original investigation, for example- a study of the prevalence of substance abuse in a particular community, the findings should be presented in a Research Paper. The analysis, evidence, and conclusions that are reached are essential components of such papers. A literature review section also constitutes an important segment. A Research Paper seeks to answer a research question and includes a hypothesis, resources needed, methods followed, and a conclusion. It also needs to highlight potential future avenues for research. Formats for Research Paper are generally similar across subjects and institutions but would vary from region to region according to the patterns laid down by the educational authorities.
Formatting
The context of formatting for both the Review Paper and Research Paper is subject to great sensitivity. Sometimes as a well-narrated paper gets rejected due to improper follow-ups of the formatting criteria.
The Essential Format of Review Paper
The essential format of a Review Paper can vary as per the preferences of the scholar. However, there are some basic inclusions, which cannot be ignored. These essentials are:
- Title Page
- Abstract
- Introduction to Topic
- Evaluation of Former Research
- Review of Former Research
- Discussion on Current Research
- Conclusions
- References
- Bibliography
The Essential Format of Research Paper
The general structure of a Research Paper must include the following sections with an approximate word count percentage of:
- Abstract
- Introduction --> 5%
- Literature Review --> 30%
- Research Methodology --> 15%
- Findings and Results --> 15%
- Discussion --> 30%
- Conclusion & Recommendations --> 5%
- Reference List
- Appendices
It is important to note that these sections must be handled specifically. Keep in note that-
- Research Paper needs a powerful but simple title
- The title captures the essence of the paper
- The abstract often makes or kills the Research Paper
- Time and effort needs to be dedicated to crafting the abstract
- Conclusions state the importance of new findings
Thus, the motivation and preliminaries may decide on the effectiveness of the Research Paper. Make sure that the Research Paper offers a well-arranged systematic revelation of new findings, along with scopes for future research. Here, the Conclusion and Recommendations add new dimensions to the existing research base.
Core Differences between Review Paper and Research Paper
To begin with, the core differences between a Review Paper and a Research Paper are:
