Primary and Secondary Sources of Information

Scientific literature is divided into two basic categories - "primary" and "secondary". Primary sources are original documents that are records of events as first described without interpretation or commentary. These are “raw” material in the sense that they have not been summarized or processed. In the humanities, primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during a historical event or time period. In the sciences, often primary literature refers to the first place a scientist publishes the results of scientific investigations.

Often primary sources are created at the time when the events or conditions are occurring, but primary sources can also include autobiographies, memoirs, and oral histories recorded later. Primary sources are characterized by their content, regardless of whether they are available in original format, in microfilm/microfiche, in digital format, or in published format.

Publications that report the results of original scientific research constitute the "primary" literature and include journal papers, conference papers, monographic series, technical reports, theses, dissertations, diaries, letters, ledgers, emails, photographs, statistics, court records, interviews, surveys, scientific research reports, weblogs.

Secondary sources are material that has taken a primary source and summarized it, analyzed it, combined it, rephrased it and interpreted it. It is at least one step removed from the event or phenomenon under review. The "primary" literature is eventually compacted into "secondary" sources which synthesize and condense what is known on specific topics. A secondary source may try to persuade or argue a position. Much of what you find as sources will be secondary.

These include reports, summaries, textbooks, speeches, articles, encyclopedias and dictionaries, reviews, monographs, treatises, handbooks, and manuals.

Information in the sciences can be found in a variety of formats. Depending upon the type of information you need, some formats will prove more useful than others.

Exercise 3. Scan the text and find the specific information to answer the questions.

1. What is “raw” material when concerning sources of information?

2. What category of scientific literature can publications that report the results of original scientific research be referred to?

3. What is the main difference between the primary and secondary sources of information?

4. Can primary literature be transformed into secondary sources of information and vice versa?

5. What formats can information in the sciences be found in?

Exercise 4. Listen to the part of a lecture about information sources and

a) complete the text with the missing words:

Looking in primary sources in academic topic can sometimes be …. Primary sources are … accounts of an event and are created …the event took place. They can also be created … at a later date by a … in those events. They are … documents and usually … or … other documents. They can be used to … claims or criticism or as … for theories and research.

Secondary sources are written by … and observers after the fact and … or analyze primary sources or events. They are at least … removed from what they are describing. They can get … info and understand the … of a topic and understand the … of events, data, etc.

b) answer the questions:

1. What can primary and secondary sources for a paper about the Placebo Effect be?

2. Why are information sources relative and what it depends on?

3. Why is it advisable to use both primary and secondary sources of information for an effective research paper?

Exercise 5. Study the chart from Figure 1 and suppose what "grey literature" is.

Figure 1

Exercise 6. Compare your ideas with the description of the category of academic literature given below. Think of the question if dissertations can be considered as an example of grey literature? Why?

Grey literature is a body of materials that cannot be found easily through conventional channels such as publishers. It is non-conventional literature that does not include normal scientific journals, books or popular publications. Electronic and print formats are not published for commercial reasons. Usually it is not well catalogued and often difficult to locate. It contains new, revolutionary or untested ideas. It deals with data and information on focused/unique subjects, uncovers untapped ("lost") ideas, data, experiments, methodologies, designs, etc. Both primary sources can be included in this category.

	Exercise 7. Fill in the table matching the examples with the type of the information source they refer to.
encyclopedia autobiography memoir summary conference paper report monograph		dictionary technical report speech dissertation diary treatise letter	manual ledger e-mail photograph statistics court record review	interview handbook survey textbook scientific research report newspaper weblog

primary sources	secondary sources	"grey" literature

Exercise 8. Look through the review of academic formats and say if Miscellaneous Sources are the same as "grey" literature sources.

There is a review of the main formats so that you can begin to get an idea about which format may be the most helpful to your research task.

Books, e-books, reference materials

Provide:

Background information and concept overviews to begin research

Historical perspective to ongoing research

Procedures and protocols for applied and laboratory science

Keywords for database searching

Contain:

Overviews of topics and disciplines, histories of subjects, and established information in a field.

Conference Papers

Papers presented at national and international conferences, symposia, and workshops are a source of "primary" scientific information. For many conferences the presented papers are eventually published in a "proceedings" or "transactions" volume. Papers with no published proceedings may be refined and reworked for formal publication in a journal.

Journals

Provide:

Concise and focused subject information.

Timely research information and new trends/ideas.

Insight into new experimental procedures and methodologies.

Contain:

New discoveries in a field

Are:

Often peer-reviewed, refereed and held to rigorous standards.

Intended for general types of scientists and engineers or discipline specific audiences.

Scientific Monographs

Scientific monographs are book length works written by specialists for the benefit of other specialists. As defined by the National Research Council they attempt to "...collect, collate, analyze, integrate, and synthesize all relevant contributions to the archival literature of the scientific and engineering journals and to add original material as required". They are different from textbooks which are pedagogical works and scientific popularizations for the general public.

Miscellaneous Sources

In addition to the above sources, additional miscellaneous formats can include:

physical examples of materials

specimen types

taxonomies

source bibliographies

maps

databases

blogs, emails and wikis

		Exercise 9. Think of the information sources and complete the table for different disciplines.
	Discipline		Primary Source	Secondary Source
	Art		Original artwork
	Architecture			Book on architectural style and design
	Geology			Interpretation of geologic features for a given location
	Graphics		Computer-generated graphics
	Music			Review of the song
	History			Book about exploration
	Journalism		Newspaper from 1920
	Literature		Poem
	Political Science			Article reviewing a law and its effects on the citizenry
	Journalism		Interview
	Science		Original journal article
	Theatre Arts			Biography of a playwright
	The area of study you are engaged in

	Exercise 10. Summarize the information from the unit and make a report about the Sources of Information using the chart (Figure 2). Start your answer with the sentence:
The following chart illustrates common steps involved in the scientific research process (inner circle), the dissemination of research results through the primary and secondary literature (outer circle), and the personal assimilation of this information resulting in new ideas and research (inner circle). …