Literature Types for Science & Technology
- Primary literature
- Written by the scientists who did the original research and typically written in a format that includes sections such as abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion.
- Secondary literature
- Reports on research written by science writers; "repackaged primary literature", articles in Science News or the "Science Times" section of the Tuesday New York Times.
- Tertiary literature
- Guides to literature that identify primary and secondary literature sources - bibliographies, indexing and abstracting services and databases.
Sources for primary literature are most commonly articles formally published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals. Scholarly journals are often published or supported by a University press or a professional society. Examples at UW Tacoma Library - Evolution, Restoration Ecology. Secondary literature can be in scholarly journals too; examples of scholarly journals that include secondary literature available at the UW Tacoma Library - BioScience, American Scientist. A common form of secondary literature in scholarly sources is the review article, which "reviews" or discusses the research done on a particular subject. Example of publication devoted to "review": Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics.
Format for primary literature is specified by publication source; common guidelines are per APA (American Psychological Association), CBE (Council of Biology Editors) and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). To assist in identifying primary literature, use the following test:
| the IMRAD test |
| Introduction |
| Methods (and/or materials) |
| Results |
| and Discussion |
|
...plus abstract, conclusion & references |
Peer-reviewed or Refereed journals - scholarly journals that include blind, expert evaluation of articles submitted for publication as part the publication process. This is different from editorial review. Various ways of determining whether a journal is peer-reviewed. Typically mentioned on introductory or "Instruction to Authors" pages. The library has a resource, Ulrich's Periodical Directory, that can tell you whether a journal is peer-reviewed. Can include either primary or secondary literature.
