Academic (also called scholarly or peer-reviewed articles) articles are a great source to use for Gemstone research! Articles are very specific sources that focus on the process and findings on an experiment. There are many different types of academic articles, all which serve a different purpose in research. he tabs below will give you a quick introduction to the different kinds of academic articles.
An empirical study uses quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods approaches to gather information and draw conclusions about an experiment or an observed behavior.
Rayner, J., & Morgan, D. (2018). An empirical study of ‘green’ workplace behaviours: ability, motivation and opportunity. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 56(1), 56–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12151
Case studies are an in-depth study of a specific subject in its real world context.
Citation: Scholarly articles (2025). University of Minnesota Libraries. https://libguides.d.umn.edu/c.php?g=1405200&p=10401241
Ågren, A. M., Lidberg, W., Strömgren, M., Ogilvie, J., & Arp, P. A. (2014). Evaluating digital terrain indices for soil wetness mapping – a Swedish case study. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 18(9), 3623–3634. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3623-2014
Literature reviews can either be found as a section within a research article or can be a type of article on their own. A literature review:
Citation: Macri, L. & Corlett-Rivera, K. (2016). How to write a literature review: An introduction to writing & research in graduate school. https://umd.app.box.com/s/ilc7c9fvr10lh1p7p23d3chll1ty9buz
Wang, A. I., & Tahir, R. (2020). The effect of using Kahoot! for learning – A literature review. Computers & Education, 149, Article 103818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2020.103818
Scoping reviews aim to map out available literature and identifying any gaps. Scoping reviews are usually broader in scope and exploratory in nature than systematic reviews which aim to ask a highly specific question. Similar to systematic reviews, scoping reviews also determine specific process for which relevant studies to include in their review.
Citation: Scholarly articles (2025). University of Minnesota Libraries. https://libguides.d.umn.edu/c.php?g=1405200&p=10401241
Sharma, M., Savage, C., Nair, M., Larsson, I., Svedberg, P., & Nygren, J. M. (2022). Artificial Intelligence Applications in Health Care Practice: Scoping Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(10), e40238–e40238. https://doi.org/10.2196/40238
A "high-level overview of primary research on a focused question" utilizing high-quality research evidence through:
Citation: Kysh, Lynn (2013): Difference between a systematic review and a literature review. [figshare]. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.766364
Adams, R., Jeanrenaud, S., Bessant, J., Denyer, D., & Overy, P. (2016). Sustainability-oriented Innovation: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 18(2), 180–205. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12068
A meta-analysis is an article that combines and analyzes the results of multiple studies on the same topic to determine trends.
Wang, N., Quesada, B., Xia, L., Butterbach‐Bahl, K., Goodale, C. L., & Kiese, R. (2019). Effects of climate warming on carbon fluxes in grasslands— A global meta‐analysis. Global Change Biology, 25(5), 1839–1851. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14603
UMD has access to many different databases, which contain academic articles. Some databases are subject-specific, whereas others are more broad. Below is a list of general databases to help you get started with your research.
Multi-disciplinary database providing information for nearly every area of academic study. Includes an enormous collection of the most valuable peer-reviewed full text journals, as well as additional journals, magazines, newspapers and books. Multidisciplinary subjects including: social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language & linguistics, arts & literature, medicine, ethnic studies. 1965- present.
