What are primary secondary and tertiary sources?
Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources in the Health Sciences. Sources are considered primary, secondary, or tertiary depending on the originality of the information and how close they are to the source of information.
Are encyclopedias tertiary sources?
For example, while encyclopedias are typically considered tertiary sources, a research paper focusing on the development of encyclopedic writing since 1900 might use encyclopedia entries as direct evidence and therefore as primary sources. Am I analyzing the source itself or using it for background information?
Should I cite tertiary sources in my research paper?
For these reasons, you likely won’t cite tertiary sources in your research paper, but you might still use them behind the scenes in your research. Use tertiary sources in the beginning stages of your research process to:
What is a primary source in research?
Primary sources (or primary research) presents the immediate results of original research activities and/or new scientific discoveries.. It often includes hypotheses, experiments, analysis of data collected in the field or laboratory and a conclusion. Primary sources are original materials/information on which other research is based.
Tertiary Drug Information Resources Teresa OSullivan PharmD