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Extending Your Publication’s Reach
When publishing your research efforts in writing you must identify appropriate, reputable journals to submit your work to, and you must also present your work in a standardized form that fits the research goals and design. There are several common types of peer-reviewed journal articles formats, including:
Original Research: Presents empirical research based on experiments, surveys, or observations. They report new findings and contribute to scientific knowledge.
Commentary, Opinion, & Perspective: Enriches the scientific literature by offering fresh perspectives and critical insights.
Protocol: Provides a detailed study design or set of instructions for carrying out a specific experimental process or procedure. These protocols describe the hypothesis, rationale, and methodology of a research project that has not yet generated results.
Review: Synthesizes existing information on a specific topic. A literature review analyzes and summarizes relevant studies, identifying trends, gaps, and areas for further investigation. Systematic or realist reviews and meta-analyses are other common review types.
Short Report: Communicates brief summaries of data from original research that will be interesting to many researchers, and that will likely encourage further theory and research in the field.
Theory & Methodology: Proposes or discusses theoretical frameworks, models, concepts, or measurement tools contributing to the development of theories and measurement within a field.
Below, you can explore our archive by article type to see examples of each in implementation science, across a range of journals. Open access articles are marked with the ✪ symbol.
Original research articles, also known as empirical studies, are fundamental to scientific literature. Original research articles present new findings based on primary research conducted by the authors and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in a specific field. Like other peer-reviewed publications, original research articles undergo rigorous peer review by experts in the field. During this process, reviewers assess the study’s validity, methodology, and contribution to the state of knowledge in the field. Once published, original research articles can influence policy, practice, and future research, providing evidence for scientific theories and informing decision-making.
This type of article often consists of six standard parts:
- Abstract: A concise summary of the study’s objectives, methods, results, and conclusions.
- Introduction: Contextualizes the research problem, states the hypothesis or research question.
- Methods: Describes the study design, data collection, and analysis methods.
- Results: Presents the findings, often using tables, figures, and statistical analyses.
- Discussion: Interprets the results, discusses implications, limitations, and future directions.
- Conclusion: Summarizes the study’s significance and key takeaways.
Types of Empirical Studies:
- Experimental Studies: Controlled experiments with manipulated variables.
- Observational Studies: Observing and analyzing existing data without intervention.
- Survey Research: Collecting data through questionnaires or interviews.
- Case Studies: In-depth analysis of a specific case or phenomenon.
Listed below in reverse chronological order are all original research publications in our UW archive.
Reliability and validity of intervention characteristic measures for assessing barriers to evidence-based practice use
Commentary, opinion, and perspective articles don’t involve original research, but they do significantly enrich scientific literature by offering fresh perspectives and critical insights. While they are similar and not every journal accepts each type, it is important to understand how to distinguish them.
Perspective articles present a new and unique viewpoint on existing problems, fundamental concepts, or prevalent notions within a specific field. Authors propose and support a new hypothesis, discuss implications of innovations, or highlight current advances and future directions. Perspective pieces may include original data alongside personal opinion. These are usually short peer-reviewed articles (around 2000-3000 words) and may include a brief abstract and relevant tables/figures.
Opinions express the author’s viewpoint on the strengths and weaknesses of a hypothesis or scientific theory and are generally based on constructive criticism backed by evidence. However, opinion articles do not contain unpublished or original data. They instead foster scientific discourse by challenging the current state of knowledge in a particular field.
Commentaries provide contextualized insights within the existing literature from the immediately preceding years. Similar to a review, commentaries discuss and critique relevant research.
Listed below in reverse chronological order are all commentary, opinion, and perspective publications in our UW archive.
✪ Reimagining policy implementation science in a global context: a theoretical discussion
✪ Relevance of learning health systems to physiatrists and its synergy with implementation science: A commentary
✪ Mending the gap: Measurement needs to address policy implementation through a health equity lens
A protocol article in peer-reviewed scientific literature describes detailed plans and proposals for research projects that have not yet generated results. These articles serve as a roadmap for future studies, outlining methodologies, objectives, and anticipated outcomes. They allow researchers to establish clear guidelines before embarking on their investigations. Additionally, protocols published in reputable journals undergo review to ensure scientific rigor and ethical compliance.
Listed below in reverse chronological order are all protocol papers in our UW archive.
✪ Using policy codesign to achieve multi-sector alignment in adolescent behavioral health: a study protocol
A review paper in scientific peer-reviewed literature is a comprehensive, focused analysis of existing research on a specific topic. Written by subject matter experts, review articles synthesize available evidence, explain the current state of knowledge, and identify gaps for potential future research. These articles typically include detailed tables summarizing relevant scientific literature. Successful review articles maintain objectivity, avoid tedious data presentation, provide critical analysis, and allocate sufficient time for the overall process.
Listed below in reverse chronological order are all reviews in our UW archive.
Factors Affecting Post-trial Sustainment or De-implementation of Study Interventions: A Narrative Review
✪ A Conceptual Framework for Group Well-Child Care: A Tool to Guide Implementation, Evaluation, and Research
A short report in scientific peer-reviewed literature is a concise communication that provides brief data from original research. Editors publish these reports when they believe the data will interest many researchers and potentially stimulate further research in the field. Unlike full-length research articles, short reports focus on specific findings, often omitting extensive background information or detailed methodology. These succinct papers contribute to the rapid dissemination of important research findings.
Listed below in reverse chronological order are all short reports in our UW archive.
✪ Acceptability and feasibility of policy implementation strategies for taxes earmarked for behavioral health services
✪ Raising the issue of quality in implementation science reporting in global health: Implications for health planning and practice
✪ Mapping the organizational readiness to change assessment to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research
Participatory implementation science to increase the impact of evidence-based cancer prevention and control
In scientific peer-reviewed literature, methodology and theory papers serve distinct purposes.
A methodology paper describes or analyzes research methods, including design, conduct, analysis, or reporting. It provides detailed information on how a study was conducted, justifies the experimental design, and explains how results were analyzed. Researchers often publish methodology papers to share best practices, enhance transparency, and promote reproducibility in their field. These papers contribute to the science of science by improving research methods and advancing scholarly communication.
A theory paper develops an explanation of a phenomenon based on previous research results, going beyond summarizing existing studies by proposing new models or frameworks for understanding the phenomenon.
Theoretical articles are essential for advancing scientific understanding, as they provide conceptual foundations and guide future research.
Listed below in reverse chronological order are all methodology and theory papers in our UW archive.
✪ Development of a method for Making Optimal Decisions for Intervention Flexibility during Implementation (MODIFI): a modified Delphi study
✪ Development of a method for Making Optimal Decisions for Intervention Flexibility during Implementation (MODIFI): a modified Delphi study
Open access in scientific peer-reviewed literature refers to the free availability of research articles on the public internet. Open access articles can be read, downloaded, copied, distributed, printed, and linked to without subscription or paywalls. There is no embargo period; open access content is accessible as soon as it’s published. Users can reuse published material (with proper citation) for lawful purposes. Open access promotes equitable access to scientific knowledge, benefiting researchers and the wider community.
Along with these benefits, open access publishing has several challenges. Open access often requires authors or their institutions to pay Article Processing Charges (APCs) to cover publication costs. The rise of predatory publishers exploiting open access models has raised concerns about quality control. Authors need to navigate copyright agreements and licensing when publishing open access. Not everyone has equal access to the internet or open access content, potentially exacerbating existing disparities. Open access may favor certain topics or regions, affecting the diversity of published research.
Despite these challenges, open access remains an important avenue for disseminating scientific knowledge.
Listed below in reverse chronological order are all open access papers in our UW archive.
✪ Reimagining policy implementation science in a global context: a theoretical discussion
✪ A research agenda to advance the study of implementation mechanisms
Being the first author in peer-reviewed scientific publications holds significant importance. The first author executes a substantial portion of the research work and their name being listed first signifies that they have made the greatest intellectual contribution to the study. The first author’s name appears in every future citation of the work. It’s a coveted spot and is remembered, indexed, and promoted more than any other author.
For Ph.D. students, publishing as the first author is crucial as many Ph.D. programs worldwide require at least one first-authored paper for degree qualification. Academic employers typically evaluate academic personnel based on first-authorship, which means that early-career researchers particularly benefit from being lead authors. Being the first author reflects both recognition and responsibility, with academic, social, and financial implications.
Listed below in reverse chronological order are all publications in our archive with a UW-affiliated first author.