Primary source articles have these qualities:
- 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
Secondary source articles have these qualities:
- Report the significance of research or experiments
- Review the results of several experiments or trials
- Include meta-analyses, systematic reviews, or literature reviews
- Analysis of clinical trials
- Appear in peer-reviewed or scholarly journals
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
