Research journal articles as document genres: exploring their role in knowledge organization

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline how article genres, or article types, are classified and described in the disciplines of biology, education, and software engineering. By using the expression article genres, emphasis is placed on the social role of journal articles that, as such, accomplish specific communicative functions and are intended for a certain context and audience. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on this idea, the instructions to authors of the research journals cited in the Journal Citation Reports for each of the three disciplines are analysed. Findings The information provided by the instructions to authors of major publications in the fields studied allows one to describe the following article genres: major articles, theoretical articles, review articles, short articles, practice‐oriented articles, case studies, comment and opinion, and reviews. Research limitations/implications Results show that article genres reflect the nature of research in each field to the extent that using them to describe items along with topic may improve management and retrieval of scientific documents. In addition, article genres perform specific communicative functions within disciplinary communities, which accounts for both emerging types of articles and variations in traditional types. Originality/value The paper summarizes the information on article genres available in the instructions to authors of scientific journals in the disciplines of biology, education and software engineering. It attempts to show how results can mirror the nature of research in each field as well as current debates within each discipline on the state and quality of research. Also it shows how article genres convey specific communication needs within disciplinary communities, which proves that genres are social and evolving objects.