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Physician Assistant

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

primary source is a direct source of information. Articles reporting on a study that was directly conducted by the authors may be considered primary sources, as the researchers are reporting more or less directly to you without others' interpretations getting in between.

secondary source is a mediated or interpreted source of information. Meta-analyses, for instance, pool the results of many different individual studies and view the different conclusions in relation to each other to make broad conclusions and observations based on a very large number of results.

To determine what kind of source you have on your screen, look for a Methods section. Was the research done in a lab, in the field, or by direct communication with subjects? If so, you probably have a primary source. If the research was done in libraries or databases, it is a secondary source.

Notice that even primary sources usually summarize the existing literature that relates to the topic before describing the study that was conducted. This is typically called a literature review or review of the research.


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