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Primary & Secondary Source Research

What are secondary sources in the sciences?

Secondary sources analyze other sources

  • Interpret, analyze, review, or summarize information 
  • Present facts or descriptions about events not based on direct participation or observation
  • Often rely on other secondary sources and standard disciplinary methods to reach results

Secondary sources may include:

  • analyses of clinical trials
  • articles about the significance of published research or experiments
  • review articles summarizing previously published studies