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For BIOL 208, you will need to locate BOTH Primary and Secondary scientific sources for your research. What is the difference?
Primary Source | Secondary Source | |||||
Definition | Primary account of original findings written by the researcher(s); very specific information, with the goal of scholarly communication. | Secondary discussion of someone else's research; general information; news, purpose is to entertain or inform. | ||||
Format | Conference papers, a study reported in a journal article, a survey reported in a journal article. | Magazine articles, web articles or fact sheets, books. | ||||
Example: Scientists studying bird flu. |
Article in scholarly journal reporting research and methodology. | Article in Time magazine summarizing new research. Summary of research finding reported on CDC website. |
Make sure to LIMIT your results to include ONLY scholarly journals.
Limit by checking "Scholarly or Peer Reviewed" box.
Most databases that have access to scholarly journals will give you this option.
If you do not LIMIT your results, you are likely to also retrieve non-scholarly sources, such as newspaper and magazine articles.
What is the difference between popular and scholarly articles?
Popular Articles (Magazines)
Examples of Popular Magazines:
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Scholarly Articles (Journals)
Examples of Scholarly Journals:
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Some points to remember: