What is a primary research journal article?
It is an article that reports on the details and results of a research study conducted by the authors themselves. These articles are often, but not always, structured in a standard format called IMRAD, which stands for the sections of the article:
Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.
While these articles usually start with a brief literature review of previous and similar research, the rest of the article focuses on the authors' original research. For example, the "methods" or "methodology" section describes the participants in the study, the sample size, and the research procedure used.
Resources not owned by the Campbell University Libraries can be borrowed from other libraries through ILLiad, an interlibrary loan (ILL) system available to Campbell faculty, staff, and students as an aid to research and study. Request it through our Interlibrary Loan service and we will borrow it from another library. This service is free of cost. Please allow up to 4-5 days for book requests, and 2-3 days for articles.
Check out this online tutorial to learn how to use ILLiad.
When searching different databases, limit your search results by "Article Type" and select Research Articles (if the option is there). Below is an example from Sage Journals
