Primary Literature: Research Articles
- Describe the findings of original observations or experiments.
- Should provide an abstract, methods, results and points for discussion.
- Most of the articles published in journals are research articles.
- The peer review process is integral to the quality and integrity of original research.
Secondary Literature: Review articles, Systematic Reviews, and Meta-analyses
- Summarize current research in a particular area of study, categorizing and highlighting recent research studies.
- Good way to get an overview of current research in a field.
- Systematic reviews use systematic methods to collect, appraise and synthesize original research findings. Considered a high level of evidence for clinical health topics.
Tertiary Literature: Reference Sources (related, but not found in academic journals!)
- Reference sources such as encyclopedia articles, textbooks, and credible websites such as MedlinePlus** are a great place to start your research, but they are NOT considered peer-reviewed.
- Once you have an overview of an unfamiliar topic from a reference source, you are better equipped to start looking for scholarly articles in journals.
** MEDLINE Plus is a portal from the US National Library of Medicine. It includes links to creditable sites by health topic, plus drug information and a medical dictionary and encyclopedia. Freely available and designed for use by the general public.
