Review Article (also called literature review):
* Purpose: To synthesize and critically evaluate existing research on a specific topic. It doesn't generate new data. Instead, it analyzes and interprets existing data from multiple sources. It aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge, identify gaps in the research, and potentially suggest future research directions.
* Methodology: Primarily involves a thorough literature search, careful selection of relevant studies, and critical analysis of their methods, findings, and conclusions. The methodology section will describe the search strategy used (databases, keywords, inclusion/exclusion criteria) and the criteria used to evaluate the quality of included studies. It may use qualitative or quantitative methods (e.g., meta-analysis) to synthesize findings across studies. However, it does *not* involve collecting original data.
* Structure: Typically includes an introduction outlining the topic and scope, a detailed review of the relevant literature organized thematically or chronologically, a discussion summarizing the findings and highlighting inconsistencies or gaps, and a conclusion suggesting implications and future research.
Empirical Article (also called original research article):
* Purpose: To report on original research that generates new data through the collection and analysis of data. This data is then used to test hypotheses, explore relationships, or describe phenomena.
* Methodology: Involves a detailed description of the research design, methods used for data collection (e.g., experiments, surveys, observations), data analysis techniques, and the specific procedures followed. This ensures transparency and reproducibility.
* Structure: Typically includes an introduction stating the research question and hypotheses, a detailed methods section, a results section presenting the findings (often with tables and figures), a discussion section interpreting the results in relation to existing literature and the hypotheses, and a conclusion summarizing the key findings and their implications.
In short:
| Feature | Review Article | Empirical Article |
|----------------|-----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| Purpose | Synthesize existing research | Generate and report new data |
| Methodology | Literature search and critical analysis | Data collection and analysis |
| Data | Uses existing data from other studies | Collects and analyzes original data |
| Contribution| Summarizes, critiques, and interprets existing knowledge | Presents new findings and contributes to the field |
It's important to note that some articles may combine elements of both review and empirical research. For example, a review article might incorporate a meta-analysis (a quantitative method) to synthesize the results of multiple studies. However, the core distinction remains in whether the article's primary purpose is to analyze existing data or to generate new data.