WCU FAQs: Research Help

Many original research articles are not labeled as original research articles.  Original research articles include a research question or hypothesis.  They usually contain most of the following sections: methods, results, discussion, conclusion and references.  An original research article is written by the person or people that conducted the experiment or observations.  Original research articles are considered empirical or primary sources and present an original study.

Articles that look at multiple studies are not considered original research articles.  Search library databases using keywords like “study or “case study” to increase your chances of locating original research articles. 

For information on how to find an original research article that is not meta-analysis, not meta-synthesis and not mixed method, go to https://westcoastuniversitylibrary.libanswers.com/research/faq/291851.