Examples of Primary Sources | Examples of Secondary Sources |
---|---|
Research articles published in scholarly, peer-reviewed journals | Summaries, critiques, or interpretations of primary literature |
Clinical trials | Review articles |
Interviews | Textbooks (can also be a tertiary source) |
Correspondence | Dictionaries (can also be a tertiary source) |
Patents | Directories (can also be a tertiary source) |
Lab notebooks | Encyclopedias (can also be a tertiary source) |
Theses & dissertations | Handbooks (can also be a tertiary source) |
Technical Reports |
To find primary source literature in the sciences, use library databases. Research guides can help you identify databases for the discipline you are interested in.
Note: The library databases may contain references to both primary and secondary literature. You will need to examine each resource carefully to determine which one it is.
Finding primary resources in the history of science or medicine is the same as finding historical primary resources.
Primary source literature in the sciences:
Secondary source literature in the sciences:
Tertiary sources in the sciences: