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- News reports about research--though the report may have information you can use to finde find the primary research article.
- *Encyclopedia articles --*never report original research.
- Review articles. These are surveys of the literature on specific topics that summarize and explain the research of others and/or the previously published work of the authors, and are considered secondary sources. They often look very similar to primary research articles, but they are not. Here's how to tell:
- No "Methods" or "Materials and Methods" section or details. (Compare to #4 in the section on primary research articles above.)
- No "Results" section or details. (Compare to #5 in the section on primary research articles above.)
- The authors reference other sources throughout the paper. (In primary research articles, most references to others' work are in the introduction and discussion sections.)
- Databases like Science Direct may indicate review articles.
- Journals may highlight review articles. Look for a header on the first page of the article.
- Sometimes the article title contains the word review:
- Sometimes the abstract or summary mentions that the article is a review:
- Sometimes the information is found in the introductory section
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