Primary sources in the sciences document original research written by the person or people who conducted the research. They are often published in academic journals or presented at conferences. These publications and presentations are the first time the research is shared, so it contains new data or information and the author(s) detail their methodology and their results. However, primary research does not interpret the data or information it presents. It remains strictly factual.
Primary sources are also often called original research articles, primary articles, primary research, and research studies. Many scientific databases contain a mixture of original research, review articles, and systematic reviews. Review articles and systematic reviews are not primary sources.
If you're unsure whether a source is primary or not, or have any other questions about research in the sciences please get in touch with a friendly librarian.
To find primary sources: After conducting your search, on the left side of your screen under "Document Types" click on "Article" and/or "Proceeding Paper" and click "Refine." Now all your results should be primary sources!
To find primary sources: After conducting your search, check the boxes for Clinical Trial, Controlled Clinical Trial, and/or Randomized Clinical Trial under Article Type in the left sidebar.
To find primary sources: You will need to use your Randolph-Macon e-mail address to create a SciFinder account. Once you create an account and conduct a search, there isn't a good way to narrow your results to only have primary sources, so you'll need to examine the "materials and methods" sections to determine if an article is a primary source.
