What is a scientific article?
A scientific article is a work of scientific content produced by one or more authors on a given topic.
It is usually published in some scientific vehicle such as magazines, study platforms, conference proceedings, etc.
Although some use the term academic article as a synonym, in fact this is an article written by someone who has some academic affiliation (college, university, centers educational, etc).
The structure of the scientific article
According to ABNT Standards, the structure of a scientific article is composed of the following parts:
1. Pre-textual elements
They receive this name because they are elements that appear before the body of the text. Are they:
title and subtitle (if any): the title must be centered and if there is a subtitle, it must be separated by a colon.
Name(s) of author(s): below the title of the article, the name(s) of the author(s) appears. It must be right-aligned and if there are more authors the names are separated by a semicolon. Next to that, an asterisk is added that leads to a footnote with a mini-resume of the author.
Summary in vernacular language: written in one paragraph, usually contains up to 150 words (may contain up to 500 words in some cases) and must be presented with single spacing.
Keywords in the vernacular language: 3 keywords minimum must be used. They represent some terms that stand out in the search.
Example:
Contemporary collaborative consumption: the impacts on individuals, organizations and the environment
Daniela Diana.*
ABSTRACT
Collaborative consumption — also called the collaborative economy or shared economy — is a socioeconomic model built through sharing of human, physical and intellectual resources, whose products and/or services are shared by different individuals and organizations. The main objective of the article is to approach and analyze the theme of collaborative consumption in today's society, as well as the impact of this new model on individuals, organizations and the environment. It is proposed, therefore, to present reflections and analyze the influence of this new consumption paradigm today, based on the principle of decentralization and which brings to the brings out a new way of enjoyment, so that, for individuals, the most important thing in this perspective are experiences at the expense of ownership of material goods. From this perspective, collaborative consumption can be considered as a culture of access (where everyone can enjoy experiences) as opposed to a culture of possession.
Keywords: collaborative consumption; access culture; culture of ownership.
*Licentiate Degree in Letters from Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp/SP) and Bachelor's Degree in Cultural Production from Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF/RJ).
2. textual elements
Represents the body of the text itself and is divided into three parts:
Introduction: the introduction is the initial part that presents the theme, approach, methodology and objectives of the research.
Development: this is the majority of the article in which the theoretical foundation of the work and the methodology are explored. In other words, the consistency given by the argument is in the development. Important to note that topics can be divided and contain some sections.
Conclusion: succinctly, the conclusion of a scientific article must present some conclusions on the subject, or even raise possible hypotheses.
3. Post-textual elements
These are elements that appear at the end of the scientific text and only the first of them is mandatory:
References: bibliographical references are fundamental and must be in the ABNT norms that basically follow the pattern: author(s), title, edition, place, publisher and date. Example: MACAMBIRA, José Rebouças. The morpho-syntactic structure of Portuguese. São Paulo: Pioneer, 2001.
Glossary (optional): this is a list presented in alphabetical order with definitions of words or expressions that were used in the text.
Appendix (optional): text or document written by the author of the text to complement their argument, for example, an interview, a questionnaire that was used in the research, a report, etc.
Attachment (optional): unlike the appendix, the appendix is a text or document attached at the end of the research that does not belong to the author, for example, laws, images, graphics, etc.
Learn more about ABNT standards: formatting rules for academic papers
Important
It is important to remember that the structure of a scientific article may vary according to the vehicle or institution and, therefore, the rules should always be consulted before starting the edition for the shipping. An example of this is the abstract and keywords in a foreign language, which, in some cases, are mandatory.
Types of scientific articles
Depending on the focus of the research and the type of methodology used, scientific articles have two basic types:
- original articles: present unprecedented content on the topic.
- review articles: are the most common types of articles, where the author(s) analyze, criticize or question theories that already exist on the subject.
Read more about the Scientific Dissemination Text
Bibliographic references
ABNT - Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (NBR 6022:2003)
