Search for Evidence - NURS 6320 - Theoretical Foundations - LibGuides at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Learn about Searching for Evidence

Primary vs. Secondary

In a nutshell, primary sources are original works. Secondary sources synthesize or utilize primary sources.

Primary Sources

Primary sources are the foundation of original research. They allow you to:

Make new discoveries
Provide credible evidence for your arguments
Give authoritative information about your topic
If you don’t use any primary sources, your research may be considered unoriginal or unreliable.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are good for gaining a full overview of your topic and understanding how other researchers have approached it. They often synthesize a large number of primary sources that would be difficult and time-consuming to gather by yourself. They allow you to:

Gain background information on the topic
Support or contrast your arguments with other researchers’ ideas
Gather information from primary sources that you can’t access directly (e.g. private letters or physical documents located elsewhere)

Humanities vs. Sciences

Basic Differences

	Humanities	Sciences
Primary Source	Original, first-hand account of an event or time period Usually written or made during or close to the event or time period Original, creative writing or works of art Factual, not interpretive	Report of scientific discoveries Results of experiments Results of clinical trials Social and political science research results Factual, not interpretive
Secondary Source	Analyzes and interprets primary sources Second-hand account of an historical event Interprets creative work	Analyzes and interprets research results Analyzes and interprets scientific discoveries
Tertiary Source	Summarizes secondary sources Provides topic overviews	Provides topic overviews or summaries

Examples

A more detailed breakdown of the differences.

	Humanities	Sciences
Primary Sources	Diaries, journals, and letters Newspaper and magazine articles (factual accounts) Government records (census, marriage, military) Photographs, maps, postcards, posters Recorded or transcribed speeches Interviews with participants or witnesses (e.g., The Civil Right Movement) Interviews with people who lived during a particular time (e.g., genocide in Rwanda) Songs, Plays, novels, stories Paintings, drawings, and sculptures	Published results of research studies Published results of scientific experiments Published results of clinical trials Proceedings of conferences and meetings
Secondary Sources	Biographies Histories Literary Criticism Book, Art, and Theater Reviews Newspaper articles that interpret	Publications about the significance of research or experiments Analysis of a clinical trial Review of the results of several experiments or trials
Tertiary Sources	Encyclopedias Reference books Review articles Textbooks	Encyclopedias Review articles Textbooks

Above reused with permission from BMCC Library.

Learn More about Sources

Apply Your Knowledge

Planning your search

Planning your lit search
Download this worksheet to help you plan your literature search.

Searching the Literature

Lit Searching Cheat Sheet
Refer to this sheet to begin structuring your literature search.

NURS 6320 - Theoretical Foundations: Search for Evidence

Start Here