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NURS 6229 - Foundations of Scholarly Communication

Different Types of Evidence...

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

Primary Sources

evidence based medicine pyramidPrimary 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)

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.

  Scholarly (Academic) Popular Trade Publication
Purpose To inform scholars and others of new research or ideas To inform, entertain or persuade the general public; commercial purpose To inform professionals in a specific industry of news or trends
Language or Style Scientific or technical Informal, non-technical Mostly informal, some technical and jargon
Authors Scholar, researcher or expert with credentials Staff writer, journalist, generalist or freelance writer Industry professionals
Selection/Review Process Peer-reviewed or refereed by scholars or experts in the field Reviewed by an editor Reviewed by one or more industry professionals.
Advertising Limited, field-related ads Multiple ads on a variety of products or topics Multiple ads related to the field
Examples Applied Nursing Research, The Journal of Emergency Medicine, Journal of Clinical Nursing Women's Health, Newsweek, National Geographic, People Texas Nursing Magazine, EMS World, National Nurse Magazine