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A primary research article is the original scientific report via researchers that displays the results of new findings within a particular field of study. While all primary research articles will be different in nature content wise, they all tend to be broken up into these parts–introduction, methods, results, discussion, and references. These types of articles also tend to be peer reviewed, which is a process that is discussed further down in this report. 

A review article is the accumulation of all research that exists on a particular topic that is then synthesized into one article; this is what distinguishes this type of article from primary research articles–it does not include the totality of research done on a particular topic. These are incredibly useful to individuals who are trying to gain a general understanding of a new topic since it’s presented in a condensed format. 

Peer review is a process in which a particular research article is examined, often times edited and revised, by experts within the field of study to ensure the integrity and quality of the research and the article itself. The process starts with the original article being submitted to the editor of a particular journal; if the editor deems it a good fit for the journal it is then sent to a group of experts, where each one individual reads and reviews the article to determine its overall quality and determine whether or not it’s worthy of being published; the article is then sent back to the editor with a recommendation to either approve or reject the article, but ultimately the editor has final say regarding the fate of publication. This is an incredibly lengthy process, ranging from many months to sometimes years, and in many cases results in rejection due to the highly selective nature of many prestigious journals; in the case it is approved, the article is officially published and will become public to all subscribers of that particular journal.