NURS 6320 - Theoretical Foundations

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)