Research
studies are derived from actual observation or experiments.
They are papers whose authors have done original research, rather than
reporting on someone else's research.
How
to Spot a Research Article:
Look for
the following words in the abstract: observation, questionaires,
interviews, empirical, case studies, user studies, experimental, and
survey.
Look for
the following sub-headings in the article: Abstract, Introduction,
Literature, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and References.
The presence
of tables, charts, and statistics often means it is scholarly
and/or a research study.
In some
databases (example: PsycINFO), you can
limit by "Methodology"
for specific types of research studies.