Research Timeline
Primary Sources
Primary sources are information or literature about original research. These materials are provided or written by the original researchers or scientists who conducted the experiment.
Examples of Primary Sources include:
- Journal articles on original research
- Lab notebooks
- Dissertations
- Patents
- Conference Papers
- Data sets
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources analyze, evaluate, interpret and summarize information from primary resources. Typically the purpose of a secondary source is to give an overview of a topic.
Examples of secondary sources include:
- Article reviews and meta-analyses
- Popular magazine and newspaper articles
- Textbooks
Hint: Review the Methodology section of an article if you are trying to distinguish between primary and secondary.