BIOL 225: Biodiversity & Climate Change: Primary & Review Articles

PRIMARY SOURCES DEFINED

• Are first-hand accounts or individual representations and creative works.
• Are created by those who have directly witnessed what they are describing.
• Bring us as close to the original event or thought as possible without being filtered, influenced or analyzed through interpretation.
• Tend to be original documents that do not usually describe or analyze work by others.
• May be published or unpublished works.
• Follow scientific format that include: methods, results, & discussion

INDICATORS

• Words and phrases in the title and abstract should tip you off:
  • In our experiment, our results, our data, our methods, we found/discovered
• If you can't determine if it is original research, treat it as a review or secondary source. 

WHEN TO USE PRIMARY SOURCES

• To provide your own original analysis.
• To make claims or criticisms.
• To provide direct evidence for theories.
• To gain timely perspectives on a topic.
• To verify the original source of information.
• To investigate how an experiment was done.

EXAMPLES

• General Examples: Letters, diaries, speeches, interviews, correspondence, court cases, newspaper articles about current events.
• Natural & Physical Sciences: Analyzed results from original studies, field data, experiments and research.
• History: Transcript of a speech; newsreel and video footage.
• Literature: Original literary works such as books, short stories, and poetry.
• Art: Art works by artists.
• Social Sciences: Interview transcripts of patients; raw, unanalyzed population data; newspaper articles about events.

SECONDARY SOURCES

• Are second-hand analyses of other peoples' works.
• Offer extensive and in-depth analyses of primary sources.
• Summarize, evaluate, and analytically interpret primary material.
• Are not evidence, but are useful sources of  different experts' views of the primary sources.
• Are one step removed from the original or primary source. 
• Are published works, that list their sources of information which can be then used to locate additional information for your research.

INDICATORS

• Words and phrases in the title and abstract should tip you off:
  • In our review
  • Annual Review of...
• If you can't determine if it is original research, treat it as a review or secondary source. 

WHEN TO USE SECONDARY SOURCES

• To summarize, analyze, or evaluate a primary source.
• To provide background information.
• To give an outside or neutral perspective.
• To place first hand experiences into a broader context.
• To support or contrast your work in relation to existing research.

EXAMPLES

• General Examples: Textbooks, scholarly books, analyses, review articles, dissertations, theses.
• Natural & Physical Sciences: Articles that reviews and evaluates the theories and works of others
• History:  Article analyzing a speech; book recounting battle history; biographies.
• Literature: Literary critiques that examine writing style and techniques.
• Art: Lecture given about and artist's techniques; criticism or a review of artist's work.
• Social Sciences: News commentaries; articles analyzing results of a study; a book that discusses population trends over time; evaluations of social and government policy, law and legislation.

TERTIARY SOURCES

• Are factual distillations and collections of primary and secondary sources.
• Present a summarized factual representation of information.
• Are free from biased points of view and critiques.
• Are the last documents to be published in the information cycle. 
• Tend to consist of highly reliable and accurate information,
• Contain broad perspectives of topics. 
• Offer a general overview of your topic and background information for your research.

WHEN TO USE SECONDARY SOURCES

• When factual information is needed
• When basic information is needed.
• When definitions or statistics are needed.

EXAMPLES

• General Examples: Handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, classification systems, chronologies, almanacs, atlases, guidebooks, manuals, spectroscopy tables, and other factbooks.