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BIOL 108: Principles and Methods in Biology

This course guide was developed specifically for Biology 108 to provide information about research for your class project.

What is a Primary Source in the Sciences?

Primary sources in the sciences are different than primary sources in the humanities or social sciences. 

In the sciences, the focus is on the research

  •  Primary sources are written by the scientists who performed the experiments. These articles include original research data. 
  •  Secondary sources summarize or compare previous research in a particular subject area.

So, how can you tell if a scientific article is a primary source?  It's not always clear, so look for clues.

Tips!

  • Is the article clearly labeled as "Research" or "Review."
  • Read the Abstract to find out if the term "review" is used to describe the study.
  • Check the Introduction and/or Methodology section to see if the author(s) actually conducted the research or if they are only writing/summarizing research conducted by others.

Identifying Primary / Secondary Sources in the Sciences