In order to develop new application fields for semi-crystalline thermoplastics and to improve the understanding of structure-property relationships, this study focuses on the investigation of process induced crystallization in injection molded samples. Until today the mechanisms in process induced morphology development and its relation to mechanical properties are not fully understood. Besides common characterization methods (differential scanning calorimetry DSC, tensile test, polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy SEM, X-ray scattering), the use of recently developed characterization techniques like fast scanning chip calorimetry (FSC) gives the possibility to analyze the structure formation under close-to-real processing conditions. The presentation outlines the possibilities for analyzing process induced morphologies in injection molded parts and structure-property relationships, focusing on the influence of process parameters on the morphology and mechanical properties. Investigations on injection molded polyamide 6.6 (PA 6.6) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) have shown great influence of temperature difference between the melt and the mold on the skin-core morphology and crystallization. For PA 6.6, the semi-crystalline morphology in all regions of the moldings was observed at all length scales with the use of polarized light microscopy, SEM and X-ray measurements. It was observed that the skin layer thickness increased up to 50 µm depending on the cooling rate profile inside the mold. Due to the skin-core morphology, the elongation at break increased with increasing skin layer thickness. For PLA, differences in ductility and tensile strength dependent on the process induced semi-crystalline structure were observed, too. Additionally mechanical properties of the material are impaired by physical and/ or chemical interactions. Further investigations on the dependency of morphology on the evaluation of stress cracking resistance are planned.