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Marymount University/Virginia Hospital Center (VHC) Nursing Research Pathway: Primary/Secondary Resources

Primary and Secondary Resources

What is a primary source?

A primary source in science is a document or record that reports on a study, experiment, trial or research project. Primary sources are usually written by the person(s) who did the research, conducted the study, or ran the experiment, and include hypothesis, methodology, and results.

Primary Sources include:

  • Pilot/prospective studies
  • Cohort studies
  • Survey research
  • Case studies
  • Lab notebooks
  • Clinical trials and randomized controlled trials/RCTs
  • Dissertations

Finding primary sources in databases

     Under Publication Type, select Clinical Trial and Randomized Controlled Trial.

     (Hold down the CTRL key to select multiple items in the Publication Type list.)

     After conducting your search, check the boxes for Clinical Trial, Controlled Clinical     

     Trial, and/or Randomized Controlled Trial under Article Type in the left sidebar.

What is a secondary source?

Secondary sources list, summarize, compare, and evaluate primary information and studies so as to draw conclusions on or present current state of knowledge in a discipline or subject. Sources may include a bibliography which may direct you back to the primary research reported in the article.

Secondary Sources include:

  • Reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analysis
  • Newsletters and professional news sources
  • Practice guidelines & standards
  • Clinical care notes
  • Patient education Information
  • Government & legal Information
  • Monographs
  • Entries in nursing or medical encyclopedias

Finding secondary sources in databases

     After conducting your search, select the Systematic Review filter in the left sidebar
     on the results page.

     A collection of regularly updated, systematic reviews of the effects of health care.     

     Search Tip:  Keep the search simple. If your topic is "Should women be given     

     hormone replacement therapy,"  search for Hormone Replacement Therapy.

Attribution

Adapted from Nursing & Health: Primary & Secondary Sources with permission of University of Washington Tacoma.

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