Simpson Library: Computer Science: Primary Sources

Identifying Sources

	Primary	Secondary
Importance	Are about brand new research Report of results/facts/finding from an experiment or research study Written by the people who did the research Usually will contain a methods & materials or methodology section Give the reader facts about the research NOT interpretation	Analyze one or more primary sources Can be written in response to a primary article Does NOT contain original research Not written by the people who did the original research
Uses	Finding recent data Information about a very specific topic (for example, the results of a random trial for a new AIDS drug)	Finding broader information on a topic (for example, a book or article about AIDS research) Analysis or interpretation of current research

Primary Sources (Sciences)

Scholarly articles that present brand new research
Conference papers or proceedings
Datasets
Dissertations
Diaries
Interviews
Lab Notebooks
Studies or Surveys
Technical Reports

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources in the sciences are written with less technical language so that they appeal to a broader audience - not just for those studying or working in the specific field. Secondary sources are not the original source of information, and they lack the detailed description of the experiments/research found in primary sources.

Secondary sources provide:

Summaries of scientific work
Perspective
Facts
Data from other sources

Some examples of secondary sources are:

Review articles
Books
Encyclopedias
Dictionaries
Handbooks
Newspaper Articles