CHEM 115: Chemical Principles I (Fall 2023) : Evaluating and Using Articles

A primary source in the sciences is a report of research results written by the scientist(s) who conducted the research.

• Contains original research results or “raw data”
• Written by the scientist(s) who conducted the research
• Includes enough detail for other scientists to evaluate and reproduce results

Examples: Research articles, Conference papers, Theses, Technical reports, Patents, Data sets, Lab notebooks

A secondary source in the sciences synthesizes, summarizes, interprets or analyzes one or more primary sources often in an attempt to summarize the current state of knowledge on a topic.

• Contains no original data found or produced by the author
• Typically written by a scientist or journalist who has read primary research papers
• Draw conclusions based on research done by others

Examples: Review articles, meta-analyses, news reports, some book chapters, some government reports