Find out about how to recognize and use Primary and Secondary sources in multiple disciplines.
Primary sources are original materials. Primary sources include journal articles of original research, conference papers, dissertations, technical reports, and patents. Primary sources are also sets of data, such as health statistics, which have been tabulated, but not interpreted.
Secondary sources analyze, evaluate, interpret, repackages, summarizes, or reorganizes information reported by researchers in the primary literature. Examples include review articles, specifically meta-analysis and systematic reviews, and reference works
Adapted from Georgia State University Library: http://research.library.gsu.edu/c.php?g=115556&p=752897 and University of Minnesota Libraries: https://hsl.lib.umn.edu/biomed/help/primary-secondary-and-tertiary-sources-health-sciences
This interactive tutorial (from AU Library) will help you identify the differences between primary and secondary sources with examples from areas including education and health care.