In
academia, a survey article is a paper that is a work of synthesis, published through the usual channels (a
learned journal or collective volume, such as conference proceedings or collection of essays). It stands outside the usual run of
research papers, for two reasons: it is not presented as the author's original research, but as a survey or summary of a field; and it is not necessarily subject to the same degree of
peer review. Sometimes short survey articles appear in the guise of book reviews, where the context of the book is summarised first, often at greater length than is devoted to the book.
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