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Primary Sources

Characteristics

Primary source articles have these qualities:
Report the significance of research or experiments conducted by others

  • Report original research, ideas, an/or first-time scientific discoveries
  • Report experiments or research findings, results, and/or data 
  • Referred to as primary research, primary articles, primary literature, or research studies 
  • Appear in peer-reviewed or scholarly journals Include the research methodology, e.g. primary research relies on direct data collection Include methods, results, and discussion sections  
  • Include the research methodology, e.g. primary research relies on direct data collection
  • Are factual instead of interpretive

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Secondary source articles have these qualities: 

  • Report the significance of research or experiments conducted by others
  • Review the results of several experiments or trials
  • Include meta-analyses, systematic reviews, or literature reviews
  • Analysis of clinical trials
  • Non articles, e.g. letters to the editor, editorials, etc.

Tertiary sources have these qualities: 

  • Combine both primary and secondary source material
  • Provide context or background information on a topic
  • Examples typically are encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks, etc.

Scholarly journals may contain other types of material:

  • Non articles, e.g. letters to the editor, editorials, etc.
  • Book reviews

Where to Find Primary and Secondary Source Articles

Typical tools used to find primary sources are: OneSearch from the Library’s homepage, databases, and the Internet (e.g. Google Scholar). 

Last Updated: Jan 7, 2025 3:03 PM