A primary source in the sciences is a work of original research, such as the results of an experiment, a clinical trial, or other studies. They may involve scientific findings, discoveries, and proof or disproof of a hypothesis.
Primary sources in the sciences generally take the form of a research article in a scientific scholarly journal.
To locate a scientific primary source in a scholarly journal, you can browse scientific databases, such as the ones listed in this guide.
To identify a scientific primary source, check the abstract for discussion of data collection and analysis. If it's still unclear, look for a methods section detailing how original data was collected and analyzed. If you see words like "meta-analysis," "literature review," or "systematic review" in the abstract or title, it's likely to not be a work of original research and therefore not a primary source. Note: a study will include a review of literature, but it will have data collection and data analysis as the focus of the work.
To summarize, primary sources are the first publishing of a work of original research (as in an experiment and its results), and secondary sources are a second look at existing research through review, summarization, or critique. See below for more information.
Primary Source | Secondary Source | |
---|---|---|
Distinguishing Features |
|
|
Examples | Field notes, jaboratory notebooks, journal articles announcing new discoveries, medical trials | Reviews, meta-analyses, journal articles which critique the research of other journal articles, journal articles which report on a pattern observed across many original experiments |
Example Title | Blumstein, Daniel T. "Flight-initiation distance in birds is dependent on intruder starting distance." The Journal of Wildlife Management 67.4 (2203): 852-57. Web. | Stankowich, Theodore, and Daniel T. Blumstein. "Fear in animals: a meta-analysis and review of risk assessment." Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 272.1581 (2005): 2627-2634. |
Creighton University Libraries | – |
---|---|
Phoenix Health Science | – |
Reinert-Alumni | – |
Research & Instruction Help | – |
Archives | – |