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91161 Cell Biology & Genetics: Finding a Research Article

This guide will help students of 91161 find the information they need for assessment 2

What is a research article?

 

Before you begin searching for a research article, it is important you understand what a research article actually is.

In a nutshell, research articles present original research results and discoveries. Watch this video to learn more about research articles.

Research articles normally follow a particular format:

  • A brief introduction will often include a review of the existing literature on the topic studied, and explain the rationale of the author's study.  This is important because it demonstrates that the authors are aware of existing studies, and are planning to contribute to this existing body of research in a meaningful way (that is, they're not just doing what others have already done).
  • A methods section, where authors describe how they collected and analyzed data.  Statistical analyses are included.  This section is quite detailed, as it's important that other researchers be able to verify and/or replicate these methods.
  • A results section describes the outcomes of the data analysis.  Charts and graphs illustrating the results are typically included.
  • In the discussion, authors will explain their interpretation of their results and theorize on their importance to existing and future research.
  • References or works cited are always included.  These are the articles and books that the authors drew upon to plan their study and to support their discussion.

In general, research articles are very specific and can be hard to understand. You will probably need other literature to help you understand them, like review articles, books, and encyclopaedias. 


Review articles

Review articles are known as secondary sources. They’re often literature reviews, and they synthesise or analyse research that has already been conducted. They generally summarise the current state of research on a given topic, and are a very good source to look for if you are new to a research area.

Review articles are normally easier to understand comparing with research articles, reading relevant review articles can help you understand research articles on the same topics.

Example research article

 

Here is an example of a research article from Plant Cell published in 2010. You will see that it includes the headings mentioned above (although in a different order than shown in the video!).

How to find research articles

 

Research articles are published in Peer-Reviewed Journals which you can find by searching the Library Catalogue, Web of Science or Scopus.

A number of ways to find journal articles are outlined below.

Searching a Library database (Web of Science or Scopus)

The screenshot shows you how to find research articles or review articles published in recent 5 years in Scopus and Web of Science. Click the PDF document link to see a larger picture.

Browse Recommended Journals

The journals linked below are all high-quality, peer-reviewed publications in the field of Biology that publish original research. Feel free to browse through them for relevant articles.

Dimensions Research GPT

UTS does not subscribe to ChatGPT; however, a free version is available to all users. A customised version of ChatGPT has been introduced, which sources its responses directly from the Dimensions database, ensuring that any research queries are addressed using Open Access journal articles. This version is called Dimensions Research GPT.

To access Dimensions Research GPT:

  1. Sign in to ChatGPT.
  2. Click on 'Explore GPTs' from the left side menu.
  3. Search for 'Dimensions Research GPT' and then click on start chat to ask a question.
  4. To access the article the information is drawn from, click on the hyperlinked reference (as seen below).

Screen clipping of dimensions research gpt output - hyperlinked reference at end of sentence.

Choosing your research article

 

It's important to verify that the article you select for your poster fulfills the assignment criteria, no matter where you source it from.

Make sure that:

  • The article is relevant. (About cell division, cell function, cell metabolism, cell signaling or cell motility)
  • The article is published in the last 5 years (2020-2025) and is from a peer reviewed journal. (All journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science are peer reviewed)
  • The article should have clear structure including: title, authors and affiliations, abstract, introduction, methods, conclusion and references.
  • You can understand most of the article, if not, please try to read some books and review articles with similar topic, see more information in Finding Background Information.  

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If in doubt, check your article with your TA or at the Library drop in clinic