Difference between Research Paper and Review Paper

A research paper is written by students in which they have to conduct research on a given topic and then write the content. A review paper consists of reviews related to different articles that are already published. In this article, we will discuss the difference between a research paper and a review paper.

Research Paper

A research paper is an academic writing in which students have to collect information related to a given topic. They have to make an organized report regarding the subject which can include the research they have conducted or the research already done by other students. A peer review has to be conducted before publishing.

Steps to Write a Research Paper

Students have to follow the steps below to write a perfect research paper. These steps are discussed here.

• The given assignment should be perfectly understood
• Choose a topic
• Look for the sources of information
• The thesis statement should be developed
• An outline of the research paper should be created
• Write the first draft
• Write the paragraphs properly
• Write the introduction
• Body text should be compelling
• Conclude the research paper
• Revise the research paper

The given assignment should be perfectly understood

Before writing a research paper you have to understand the given assignment and then decide the specific tasks that you have to do to complete it. Here are the things that you need to do −

• Read the assignment and look for the topics that can create confusion
• Decide the length of the paper along with the options of formatting
• Make a bulleted list of all headings that you will add and then write about them
• Consider the deadline and decide the length of the research paper

Choose a topic

Choose a topic about which you can get a large amount of content. The topic should be of your interest. You can do your own research or take help from research done by other people.

Look for the sources of information

The next thing that you have to do is look for the sources from where you can get the information about the topic. Some of these sources can be discussions, books, journals, and websites. Look for the following −

• Heated debates
• Unique ideas
• Recent developments
• Overlooked but important topics

All these things will help you in devising questions related to your research topic.

Thesis statement should be developed

The next step is to develop a thesis statement which is an answer to the research question. Your answer should be supported by reasoning and pieces of evidence. The length of the thesis statement should be short and summarized.

Outline of the research paper should be created

Create an outline for the research which should include key topics, evidence, and arguments. They should be further divided into headings. This division will be helpful in writing the paper efficiently.

Write the first draft

Write the first draft of the research paper with proper order and formatting. Your ideas should be clearly described and paragraphs should be ordered logically. You can start with the easiest or the most difficult topic. There can be situations where you have written a large amount of content for a topic. Rather than deleting it, take some part of it and paste it into another document which can be used later.

Write the paragraphs properly

The paragraphs should be properly organized and it is better if you write each idea in a small and single paragraph. Each paragraph should not be more than three to four lines.

Write the introduction

Now the time has come to write the introduction which should answer three questions related to your topics and these questions are what, why, and how.

Body text should be compelling

This is the major part of your research paper and you may face difficulties in writing it. If you have created an outline, writing will be easy. The body text should be compelling so that the reader gets engaged in reading.

Conclude the research paper

Write the conclusion of your research paper which should give a final touch to the content. Readers should understand the ways that you have used to write the paper. You can also include questions which your readers can try to answer.

Revise the research paper

Read the whole research paper and find if there is any spelling, grammatical, or factual mistakes. Check the structure of the paragraph and sentences. If there is a very long sentence, try to break it as it may become confusing for the readers.

Length of the Research Paper

The length of the research paper can be between 4,000 to 8,000 words. The minimum word count can be 2,000 and the maximum can go beyond 10,000 depending on the topic.

Review Papers

A review paper is an article which consists of surveys of the articles that are already published. No new experimental results are included in these articles. Other names of the review paper are literature review or review of literature. New conclusions can be drawn from the existing article. Review articles can explore new areas of research from the existing studies.

Steps to Write a Review Paper

Here are the steps that you have to follow to write a review paper.

• Look for the aim of the article for which the review is to be written
• Scope should be defined
• Look for the sources
• Choose title and keywords
• Topic should be introduced
• Critical discussion should be included
• Conclude the review paper

Look for the aim of the article for which the review is to be written

Read the article and know about the aim and scope. All the articles do not accept reviews so you need to be very careful while choosing the article for which the review is to be written.

Scope should be defined

Find the research question and answer it with the aim of adding something new to the topic. The review should neither be too small nor too large. It should be managed easily.

Look for the sources

You can look for the sources through search engines, books, and others. The search engines will provide a lot of sources which you can use to write the review.

Choose title and keywords

Choose a proper title for your review article along with the keywords. The title will help to improve the number of views online. It will get more views if the correct readers view your article. The title should be concise, clear, and accurate and provide good information.

Topic should be introduced

Write the introduction about the topic giving the reason for providing the review. The introduction should reach a large number of people which should also include non-specialists.

Critical discussion should be included

A critical discussion should also be included in the review paper. If the research topic is contradictory, a debate can also be included which should consist of arguments from both sides. The review paper should have the ability of resolving the conflict between contradictory studies.

Conclude the review paper

A conclusion should be included at the end of the review paper. This should include the things that you have understood after studying the topic for which the review has been written.

Difference between Research paper and Review Paper

There are many differences between a research paper and a review paper and the table below includes them −