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• Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples

Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples

Published on June 20, 2018 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on May 31, 2023.

When you do research, you have to gather information and evidence from a variety of sources.

Primary sources provide raw information and first-hand evidence. Examples include interview transcripts, statistical data, and works of art. Primary research gives you direct access to the subject of your research.

Secondary sources provide second-hand information and commentary from other researchers. Examples include journal articles, reviews, and academic books . Thus, secondary research describes, interprets, or synthesizes primary sources.

Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but good research uses both primary and secondary sources.

Table of contents

What is a primary source, what is a secondary source, primary and secondary source examples, how to tell if a source is primary or secondary, primary vs secondary sources: which is better, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about primary and secondary sources.

A primary source is anything that gives you direct evidence about the people, events, or phenomena that you are researching. Primary sources will usually be the main objects of your analysis.

If you are researching the past, you cannot directly access it yourself, so you need primary sources that were produced at the time by participants or witnesses (e.g. letters, photographs, newspapers ).

If you are researching something current, your primary sources can either be qualitative or quantitative data that you collect yourself (e.g. through interviews , surveys , experiments ) or sources produced by people directly involved in the topic (e.g. official documents or media texts).

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A secondary source is anything that describes, interprets, evaluates, or analyzes information from primary sources. Common examples include:

• Books , articles and documentaries that synthesize information on a topic
• Synopses and descriptions of artistic works
• Encyclopedias and textbooks that summarize information and ideas
• Reviews and essays that evaluate or interpret something

When you cite a secondary source, it’s usually not to analyze it directly. Instead, you’ll probably test its arguments against new evidence or use its ideas to help formulate your own.

Examples of sources that can be primary or secondary

A secondary source can become a primary source depending on your research question . If the person, context, or technique that produced the source is the main focus of your research, it becomes a primary source.

Documentaries

If you are researching the causes of World War II, a recent documentary about the war is a secondary source . But if you are researching the filmmaking techniques used in historical documentaries, the documentary is a primary source .

Reviews and essays

If your paper is about the novels of Toni Morrison, a magazine review of one of her novels is a secondary source . But if your paper is about the critical reception of Toni Morrison’s work, the review is a primary source .

Newspaper articles

If your aim is to analyze the government’s economic policy, a newspaper article about a new policy is a secondary source . But if your aim is to analyze media coverage of economic issues, the newspaper article is a primary source .

To determine if something can be used as a primary or secondary source in your research, there are some simple questions you can ask yourself:

• Does this source come from someone directly involved in the events I’m studying (primary) or from another researcher (secondary)?
• Am I interested in evaluating the source itself (primary) or only using it for background information (secondary)?
• Does the source provide original information (primary) or does it comment upon information from other sources (secondary)?

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Most research uses both primary and secondary sources. They complement each other to help you build a convincing argument. Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but secondary sources show how your work relates to existing research. Tertiary sources are often used in the first, exploratory stage of research.

What do you use primary sources for?

Primary sources are the foundation of original research. They allow you to:

• Make new discoveries
• Provide credible evidence for your arguments
• Give authoritative information about your topic

If you don’t use any primary sources, your research may be considered unoriginal or unreliable.

What do you use secondary sources for?

Secondary sources are good for gaining a full overview of your topic and understanding how other researchers have approached it. They often synthesize a large number of primary sources that would be difficult and time-consuming to gather by yourself. They allow you to:

• Gain background information on the topic
• Support or contrast your arguments with other researchers’ ideas
• Gather information from primary sources that you can’t access directly (e.g. private letters or physical documents located elsewhere)

When you conduct a literature review or meta analysis, you can consult secondary sources to gain a thorough overview of your topic. If you want to mention a paper or study that you find cited in a secondary source, seek out the original source and cite it directly.

Remember that all primary and secondary sources must be cited to avoid plagiarism . You can use Scribbr’s free citation generator to do so!

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

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Common examples of primary sources include interview transcripts , photographs, novels, paintings, films, historical documents, and official statistics.

Anything you directly analyze or use as first-hand evidence can be a primary source, including qualitative or quantitative data that you collected yourself.

Common examples of secondary sources include academic books, journal articles , reviews, essays , and textbooks.

Anything that summarizes, evaluates or interprets primary sources can be a secondary source. If a source gives you an overview of background information or presents another researcher’s ideas on your topic, it is probably a secondary source.

To determine if a source is primary or secondary, ask yourself:

• Was the source created by someone directly involved in the events you’re studying (primary), or by another researcher (secondary)?
• Does the source provide original information (primary), or does it summarize information from other sources (secondary)?
• Are you directly analyzing the source itself (primary), or only using it for background information (secondary)?

Some types of source are nearly always primary: works of art and literature, raw statistical data, official documents and records, and personal communications (e.g. letters, interviews ). If you use one of these in your research, it is probably a primary source.

Primary sources are often considered the most credible in terms of providing evidence for your argument, as they give you direct evidence of what you are researching. However, it’s up to you to ensure the information they provide is reliable and accurate.

Always make sure to properly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism .

A fictional movie is usually a primary source. A documentary can be either primary or secondary depending on the context.

If you are directly analyzing some aspect of the movie itself – for example, the cinematography, narrative techniques, or social context – the movie is a primary source.

If you use the movie for background information or analysis about your topic – for example, to learn about a historical event or a scientific discovery – the movie is a secondary source.

Whether it’s primary or secondary, always properly cite the movie in the citation style you are using. Learn how to create an MLA movie citation or an APA movie citation .

Articles in newspapers and magazines can be primary or secondary depending on the focus of your research.

In historical studies, old articles are used as primary sources that give direct evidence about the time period. In social and communication studies, articles are used as primary sources to analyze language and social relations (for example, by conducting content analysis or discourse analysis ).

If you are not analyzing the article itself, but only using it for background information or facts about your topic, then the article is a secondary source.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2023, May 31). Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 3, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/primary-and-secondary-sources/

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The Literature Review

Primary and secondary sources, the literature review: primary and secondary sources.

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• Primary vs secondary sources: The differences explained 

Can something be both a primary and secondary source?

Research for your literature review can be categorised as either primary or secondary in nature. The simplest definition of primary sources is either original information (such as survey data) or a first person account of an event (such as an interview transcript). Whereas secondary sources are any publshed or unpublished works that describe, summarise, analyse, evaluate, interpret or review primary source materials. Secondary sources can incorporate primary sources to support their arguments.

Ideally, good research should use a combination of both primary and secondary sources. For example, if a researcher were to investigate the introduction of a law and the impacts it had on a community, he/she might look at the transcripts of the parliamentary debates as well as the parliamentary commentary and news reporting surrounding the laws at the time. 

Examples of primary and secondary sources

Primary vs secondary sources: The differences explained

Finding primary sources

• VU Special Collections  - The Special Collections at Victoria University Library are a valuable research resource. The Collections have strong threads of radical literature, particularly Australian Communist literature, much of which is rare or unique. Women and urban planning also feature across the Collections. There are collections that give you a picture of the people who donated them like Ray Verrills, John McLaren, Sir Zelman Cowen, and Ruth & Maurie Crow. Other collections focus on Australia's neighbours – PNG and Timor-Leste.
• POLICY - Sharing the latest in policy knowledge and evidence, this database supports enhanced learning, collaboration and contribution.
• Indigenous Australia  -  The Indigenous Australia database represents the collections of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Library.
• Australian Heritage Bibliography - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Subset (AHB-ATSIS)  - AHB is a bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts articles from published and unpublished material on Australia's natural and cultural environment. The AHB-ATSIS subset contains records that specifically relate to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.include journal articles, unpublished reports, books, videos and conference proceedings from many different sources around Australia. Emphasis is placed on reports written or commissioned by government and non-government heritage agencies throughout the country.
• ATSIhealth  - The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Bibliography (ATSIhealth), compiled by Neil Thomson and Natalie Weissofner at the School of Indigenous Australian Studies, Kurongkurl Katitjin, Edith Cowan University, is a bibliographic database that indexes published and unpublished material on Australian Indigenous health. Source documents include theses, unpublished articles, government reports, conference papers, abstracts, book chapters, books, discussion and working papers, and statistical documents. 
• National Archive of Australia  - The National Archives of Australia holds the memory of our nation and keeps vital Australian Government records safe. 
• National Library of Australia: Manuscripts  - Manuscripts collection that is wide ranging and provides rich evidence of the lives and activities of Australians who have shaped our society.
• National Library of Australia: Printed ephemera  - The National Library has been selectively collecting Australian printed ephemera since the early 1960s as a record of Australian life and social customs, popular culture, national events, and issues of national concern.
• National Library of Australia: Oral history and folklore - The Library’s Oral History and Folklore Collection dates back to the 1950’s and includes a rich and diverse collection of interviews and recordings with Australians from all walks of life.
• Historic Hansard - Commonwealth of Australia parliamentary debates presented in an easy-to-read format for historians and other lovers of political speech.
• The Old Bailey Online - A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court.

Whether or not a source can be considered both primary and  secondary, depends on the context. In some instances, material may act as a secondary source for one research area, and as a primary source for another. For example, Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince , published in 1513, is an important secondary source for any study of the various Renaissance princes in the Medici family; but the same book is also a primary source for the political thought that was characteristic of the sixteenth century because it reflects the attitudes of a person living in the 1500s.

Source: Craver, 1999, as cited in University of South Australia Library. (2021, Oct 6).  Can something be a primary and secondary source?.  University of South Australia Library. https://guides.library.unisa.edu.au/historycultural/sourcetypes

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• Subject Guides

Literature Review Basics

• Primary & Secondary Sources
• Literature Review Introduction
• Writing Literature Reviews
• Tutorials & Samples

The Literature

The Literature refers to the collection of scholarly writings on a topic. This includes peer-reviewed articles, books, dissertations and conference papers.

• When reviewing the literature, be sure to include major works as well as studies that respond to major works. You will want to focus on primary sources, though secondary sources can be valuable as well.

Primary Sources

The term primary source is used broadly to embody all sources that are original. P rimary sources provide first-hand information that is closest to the object of study. Primary sources vary by discipline.

• In the natural and social sciences, original reports of research found in academic journals detailing the methodology used in the research, in-depth descriptions, and discussions of the findings are considered primary sources of information.
• Other common examples of primary sources include speeches, letters, diaries, autobiographies, interviews, official reports, court records, artifacts, photographs, and drawings.  

Galvan, J. L. (2013). Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences . Glendale, CA: Pyrczak.

Secondary Sources

A secondary source is a source that provides non-original or secondhand data or information. 

• Secondary sources are written about primary sources.
• Research summaries reported in textbooks, magazines, and newspapers are considered secondary sources. They typically provide global descriptions of results with few details on the methodology. Other examples of secondary sources include biographies and critical studies of an author's work.

Secondary Source. (2005). In W. Paul Vogt (Ed.), Dictionary of Statistics & Methodology. (3 rd ed., p. 291). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Weidenborner, S., & Caruso, D. (1997). Writing research papers: A guide to the process . New York: St. Martin's Press.

More Examples of Primary and Secondary Sources

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How to Write a Literature Review: Primary and Secondary Sources

• Writing a Literature Review in APA Format
• Chicago/Turabian Citation Style
• Primary and Secondary Sources
• Basic Research Strategies
• Evaluating Sources
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Primary versus Secondary Sources

Primary vs. secondary videos.

Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Sources The content of research papers may come from different types of sources, such as:

• Your own opinion and analysis
• Primary sources
• Secondary sources
• Tertiary sources

It may not be necessary to include each of these types of sources in every paper you write, but your instructor may require you to include them. It is important to understand the characteristics of primary, secondary and tertiary sources–they each serve a different purpose throughout the research process, and can strengthen your assignment, too.

It can be difficult to figure out if a source is considered primary, secondary, or tertiary. We will explain the differences and provide examples of each in this tutorial. If you are still not sure if a source you would like to use is primary, secondary, or tertiary, ask a librarian or teacher.

What is a Primary Source? Primary sources are first-hand, authoritative accounts of an event, topic, or historical time period. They are typically produced at the time of the event by a person who experienced it, but can also be made later on in the form of personal memoirs or oral histories.

Anything that contains original information on a topic is considered a primary source. Usually, primary sources are the object discussed in your paper. For instance, if you are writing an analysis on Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, the book would be a primary source. But, just because a source is old does not mean it is a primary source.

Some examples of original, first-hand, authoritative accounts include:

• Letters, diaries or journals (Personal thoughts)
• Original photographs
• First-hand newspaper reports
• Speeches, autobiographies
• Creative works like plays, paintings and songs
• Research data and surveys

What is a Secondary Source? Secondary sources interpret or critique primary sources. They often include an analysis of the event that was discussed or featured in the primary source.  They are second-hand accounts that interpret or draw conclusions from one or more primary sources.

Some examples of works that interpret or critique primary sources include:

• Textbooks (May also be considered tertiary)
• Essays or reviews
• Articles that analyze or discuss ideas and events
• Criticisms or commentaries

What is a Tertiary Source? Tertiary sources generally provide an overview or summary of a topic, and may contain both primary and secondary sources. The information is displayed as entirely factual, and does not include analysis or critique.  Tertiary sources can also be collections of primary and secondary sources, such as databases, bibliographies and directories.

Some examples of sources that provide a summary or collection of a topic include:

• Textbooks (May also be considered secondary)
• Bibliographies or abstracts
• Wikipedia articles
• Encyclopedias

Using Primary, secondary and Tertiary Sources in Research Let’s say you are writing a research paper on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) of 1972, but you are unfamiliar with it. A good place to gather a general idea or understanding of the ERA would be a tertiary source, such as Wikipedia or the Encyclopedia Britannica. There, you can read a summary of events on its history, key people involved, and legislation.

To find more in-depth analysis on the Equal Rights Amendment, you consult a secondary source: the nonfiction book Why We Lost the ERA by Jane Mansbridge and a newspaper article from the 1970’s that discuss and review the legislation. These provide a more focused analysis of the Equal Rights Amendment that you can include as sources in your paper (make sure you cite them!).  A primary source that could bolster your research would be a government document detailing the ERA legislation that initially passed in Congress, giving a first-hand account of the legislation that went through the House and Senate in 1972.

This video provides a great overview of primary and secondary sources: [ youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= PgfQC4d3pKc &w=420&h=315]

Source:  http://content.easybib.com/students/research-guide/primary-secondary-tertiary-sources/

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• Working with sources
• Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples

Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples

Published on 4 September 2022 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on 15 May 2023.

When you do research, you have to gather information and evidence from a variety of sources.

Primary sources provide raw information and first-hand evidence. Examples include interview transcripts, statistical data, and works of art. A primary source gives you direct access to the subject of your research.

Secondary sources provide second-hand information and commentary from other researchers. Examples include journal articles, reviews, and academic books . A secondary source describes, interprets, or synthesises primary sources.

Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but good research uses both primary and secondary sources.

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Table of contents

What is a primary source, what is a secondary source, primary and secondary source examples, how to tell if a source is primary or secondary, primary vs secondary sources: which is better, frequently asked questions about primary and secondary sources.

A primary source is anything that gives you direct evidence about the people, events, or phenomena that you are researching. Primary sources will usually be the main objects of your analysis.

If you are researching the past, you cannot directly access it yourself, so you need primary sources that were produced at the time by participants or witnesses (e.g. letters, photographs, newspapers ).

If you are researching something current, your primary sources can either be qualitative or quantitative data that you collect yourself (e.g. through interviews, surveys, experiments) or sources produced by people directly involved in the topic (e.g. official documents or media texts).

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A secondary source is anything that describes, interprets, evaluates, or analyses information from primary sources. Common examples include:

• Books , articles and documentaries that synthesise information on a topic
• Synopses and descriptions of artistic works
• Encyclopaedias and textbooks that summarize information and ideas
• Reviews and essays that evaluate or interpret something

When you cite a secondary source, it’s usually not to analyse it directly. Instead, you’ll probably test its arguments against new evidence or use its ideas to help formulate your own.

Examples of sources that can be primary or secondary

A secondary source can become a primary source depending on your research question . If the person, context, or technique that produced the source is the main focus of your research, it becomes a primary source.

To determine if something can be used as a primary or secondary source in your research, there are some simple questions you can ask yourself:

• Does this source come from someone directly involved in the events I’m studying (primary) or from another researcher (secondary)?
• Am I interested in analysing the source itself (primary) or only using it for background information (secondary)?
• Does the source provide original information (primary) or does it comment upon information from other sources (secondary)?

Most research uses both primary and secondary sources. They complement each other to help you build a convincing argument. Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but secondary sources show how your work relates to existing research.

What do you use primary sources for?

Primary sources are the foundation of original research. They allow you to:

• Make new discoveries
• Provide credible evidence for your arguments
• Give authoritative information about your topic

If you don’t use any primary sources, your research may be considered unoriginal or unreliable.

What do you use secondary sources for?

Secondary sources are good for gaining a full overview of your topic and understanding how other researchers have approached it. They often synthesise a large number of primary sources that would be difficult and time-consuming to gather by yourself. They allow you to:

• Gain background information on the topic
• Support or contrast your arguments with other researchers’ ideas
• Gather information from primary sources that you can’t access directly (e.g. private letters or physical documents located elsewhere)

When you conduct a literature review , you can consult secondary sources to gain a thorough overview of your topic. If you want to mention a paper or study that you find cited in a secondary source, seek out the original source and cite it directly.

Remember that all primary and secondary sources must be cited to avoid plagiarism . You can use Scribbr’s free citation generator to do so!

Common examples of primary sources include interview transcripts , photographs, novels, paintings, films, historical documents, and official statistics.

Anything you directly analyze or use as first-hand evidence can be a primary source, including qualitative or quantitative data that you collected yourself.

Common examples of secondary sources include academic books, journal articles , reviews, essays , and textbooks.

Anything that summarizes, evaluates or interprets primary sources can be a secondary source. If a source gives you an overview of background information or presents another researcher’s ideas on your topic, it is probably a secondary source.

To determine if a source is primary or secondary, ask yourself:

• Was the source created by someone directly involved in the events you’re studying (primary), or by another researcher (secondary)?
• Does the source provide original information (primary), or does it summarize information from other sources (secondary)?
• Are you directly analyzing the source itself (primary), or only using it for background information (secondary)?

Some types of sources are nearly always primary: works of art and literature, raw statistical data, official documents and records, and personal communications (e.g. letters, interviews ). If you use one of these in your research, it is probably a primary source.

Primary sources are often considered the most credible in terms of providing evidence for your argument, as they give you direct evidence of what you are researching. However, it’s up to you to ensure the information they provide is reliable and accurate.

Always make sure to properly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism .

A fictional movie is usually a primary source. A documentary can be either primary or secondary depending on the context.

If you are directly analysing some aspect of the movie itself – for example, the cinematography, narrative techniques, or social context – the movie is a primary source.

If you use the movie for background information or analysis about your topic – for example, to learn about a historical event or a scientific discovery – the movie is a secondary source.

Whether it’s primary or secondary, always properly cite the movie in the citation style you are using. Learn how to create an MLA movie citation or an APA movie citation .

Articles in newspapers and magazines can be primary or secondary depending on the focus of your research.

In historical studies, old articles are used as primary sources that give direct evidence about the time period. In social and communication studies, articles are used as primary sources to analyse language and social relations (for example, by conducting content analysis or discourse analysis ).

If you are not analysing the article itself, but only using it for background information or facts about your topic, then the article is a secondary source.

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Streefkerk, R. (2023, May 15). Primary vs. Secondary Sources | Difference & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 3 September 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/working-sources/primary-vs-secondary-sources/

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Literature Reviews: Types of Literature

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Types of Literature

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Different types of publications have different characteristics.

Primary Literature Primary sources means original studies, based on direct observation, use of statistical records, interviews, or experimental methods, of actual practices or the actual impact of practices or policies. They are authored by researchers, contains original research data, and are usually published in a peer-reviewed journal. Primary literature may also include conference papers, pre-prints, or preliminary reports. Also called empirical research .

Secondary Literature Secondary literature consists of interpretations and evaluations that are derived from or refer to the primary source literature. Examples include review articles (such as meta-analysis and systematic reviews) and reference works. Professionals within each discipline take the primary literature and synthesize, generalize, and integrate new research.

Tertiary Literature Tertiary literature consists of a distillation and collection of primary and secondary sources such as textbooks, encyclopedia articles, and guidebooks or handbooks. The purpose of tertiary literature is to provide an overview of key research findings and an introduction to principles and practices within the discipline.

Adapted from the Information Services Department of the Library of the Health Sciences-Chicago , University of Illinois at Chicago.

Types of Scientific Publications

These examples and descriptions of publication types will give you an idea of how to use various works and why you would want to write a particular kind of paper.

• Scholarly article aka empirical article
• Review article
• Conference paper

Scholarly (aka empirical) article -- example

Empirical studies use data derived from observation or experiment. Original research papers (also called primary research articles) that describe empirical studies and their results are published in academic journals.  Articles that report empirical research contain different sections which relate to the steps of the scientific method.

      Abstract - The abstract provides a very brief summary of the research.

     Introduction - The introduction sets the research in a context, which provides a review of related research and develops the hypotheses for the research.

     Method - The method section describes how the research was conducted.

     Results - The results section describes the outcomes of the study.

     Discussion - The discussion section contains the interpretations and implications of the study.

     References - A references section lists the articles, books, and other material cited in the report.

Review article -- example

A review article summarizes a particular field of study and places the recent research in context. It provides an overview and is an excellent introduction to a subject area. The references used in a review article are helpful as they lead to more in-depth research.

Many databases have limits or filters to search for review articles. You can also search by keywords like review article, survey, overview, summary, etc.

Conference proceedings, abstracts and reports -- example

Conference proceedings, abstracts and reports are not usually peer-reviewed.  A conference article is similar to a scholarly article insofar as it is academic. Conference articles are published much more quickly than scholarly articles. You can find conference papers in many of the same places as scholarly articles.

How Do You Identify Empirical Articles?

To identify an article based on empirical research, look for the following characteristics:

     The article is published in a peer-reviewed journal .

     The article includes charts, graphs, or statistical analysis .

     The article is substantial in size , likely to be more than 5 pages long.

     The article contains the following parts (the exact terms may vary): abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, references .

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Literature review sources

Sources for literature review can be divided into three categories as illustrated in table below. In your dissertation you will need to use all three categories of literature review sources:

Sources for literature review and examples

Generally, your literature review should integrate a wide range of sources such as:

• Books . Textbooks remain as the most important source to find models and theories related to the research area. Research the most respected authorities in your selected research area and find the latest editions of books authored by them. For example, in the area of marketing the most notable authors include Philip Kotler, Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Emanuel Rosen and others.
• Magazines . Industry-specific magazines are usually rich in scholarly articles and they can be effective source to learn about the latest trends and developments in the research area. Reading industry magazines can be the most enjoyable part of the literature review, assuming that your selected research area represents an area of your personal and professional interests, which should be the case anyways.
• Newspapers can be referred to as the main source of up-to-date news about the latest events related to the research area. However, the proportion of the use of newspapers in literature review is recommended to be less compared to alternative sources of secondary data such as books and magazines. This is due to the fact that newspaper articles mainly lack depth of analyses and discussions.
• Online articles . You can find online versions of all of the above sources. However, note that the levels of reliability of online articles can be highly compromised depending on the source due to the high levels of ease with which articles can be published online. Opinions offered in a wide range of online discussion blogs cannot be usually used in literature review. Similarly, dissertation assessors are not keen to appreciate references to a wide range of blogs, unless articles in these blogs are authored by respected authorities in the research area.

Your secondary data sources may comprise certain amount of grey literature as well. The term grey literature refers to type of literature produced by government, academics, business and industry in print and electronic formats, which is not controlled by commercial publishers. It is called ‘grey’ because the status of the information in grey literature is not certain. In other words, any publication that has not been peer reviewed for publication is grey literature.

The necessity to use grey literature arises when there is no enough peer reviewed publications are available for the subject of your study.

John Dudovskiy

• USC Libraries
• Research Guides

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• 5. The Literature Review
• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Applying Critical Thinking
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Research Process Video Series
• Executive Summary
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tiertiary Sources
• Scholarly vs. Popular Publications
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Insiderness
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Generative AI and Writing
• USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
• Bibliography

A literature review surveys prior research published in books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have used in researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within existing scholarship about the topic.

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . Fourth edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2014.

Importance of a Good Literature Review

A literature review may consist of simply a summary of key sources, but in the social sciences, a literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories . A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information in a way that informs how you are planning to investigate a research problem. The analytical features of a literature review might:

• Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
• Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,
• Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant research, or
• Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a problem has been researched to date.

Given this, the purpose of a literature review is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research problem being studied.
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
• Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important].

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2011; Knopf, Jeffrey W. "Doing a Literature Review." PS: Political Science and Politics 39 (January 2006): 127-132; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012.

Types of Literature Reviews

It is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct and publish. Second are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new interpretations built from and often extending beyond the primary studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally among scholars that become part of the body of epistemological traditions within the field.

In composing a literature review, it is important to note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature reviews. Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored, there are a number of approaches you could adopt depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study.

Argumentative Review This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply embedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews [see below].

Integrative Review Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses or research problems. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication. This is the most common form of review in the social sciences.

Historical Review Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical literature reviews focus on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research.

Methodological Review A review does not always focus on what someone said [findings], but how they came about saying what they say [method of analysis]. Reviewing methods of analysis provides a framework of understanding at different levels [i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches, and data collection and analysis techniques], how researchers draw upon a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection, and data analysis. This approach helps highlight ethical issues which you should be aware of and consider as you go through your own study.

Systematic Review This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review. The goal is to deliberately document, critically evaluate, and summarize scientifically all of the research about a clearly defined research problem . Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as "To what extent does A contribute to B?" This type of literature review is primarily applied to examining prior research studies in clinical medicine and allied health fields, but it is increasingly being used in the social sciences.

Theoretical Review The purpose of this form is to examine the corpus of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature review helps to establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework.

NOTE: Most often the literature review will incorporate some combination of types. For example, a review that examines literature supporting or refuting an argument, assumption, or philosophical problem related to the research problem will also need to include writing supported by sources that establish the history of these arguments in the literature.

Baumeister, Roy F. and Mark R. Leary. "Writing Narrative Literature Reviews."  Review of General Psychology 1 (September 1997): 311-320; Mark R. Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Kennedy, Mary M. "Defining a Literature." Educational Researcher 36 (April 2007): 139-147; Petticrew, Mark and Helen Roberts. Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide . Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2006; Torracro, Richard. "Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples." Human Resource Development Review 4 (September 2005): 356-367; Rocco, Tonette S. and Maria S. Plakhotnik. "Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical Frameworks: Terms, Functions, and Distinctions." Human Ressource Development Review 8 (March 2008): 120-130; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  Thinking About Your Literature Review

The structure of a literature review should include the following in support of understanding the research problem :

• An overview of the subject, issue, or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review,
• Division of works under review into themes or categories [e.g. works that support a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative approaches entirely],
• An explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others,
• Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research.

The critical evaluation of each work should consider :

• Provenance -- what are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by evidence [e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings]?
• Methodology -- were the techniques used to identify, gather, and analyze the data appropriate to addressing the research problem? Was the sample size appropriate? Were the results effectively interpreted and reported?
• Objectivity -- is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?
• Persuasiveness -- which of the author's theses are most convincing or least convincing?
• Validity -- are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

II.  Development of the Literature Review

Four Basic Stages of Writing 1.  Problem formulation -- which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues? 2.  Literature search -- finding materials relevant to the subject being explored. 3.  Data evaluation -- determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic. 4.  Analysis and interpretation -- discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature.

Consider the following issues before writing the literature review: Clarify If your assignment is not specific about what form your literature review should take, seek clarification from your professor by asking these questions: 1.  Roughly how many sources would be appropriate to include? 2.  What types of sources should I review (books, journal articles, websites; scholarly versus popular sources)? 3.  Should I summarize, synthesize, or critique sources by discussing a common theme or issue? 4.  Should I evaluate the sources in any way beyond evaluating how they relate to understanding the research problem? 5.  Should I provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions and/or a history? Find Models Use the exercise of reviewing the literature to examine how authors in your discipline or area of interest have composed their literature review sections. Read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or to identify ways to organize your final review. The bibliography or reference section of sources you've already read, such as required readings in the course syllabus, are also excellent entry points into your own research. Narrow the Topic The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to read in order to obtain a good survey of relevant resources. Your professor will probably not expect you to read everything that's available about the topic, but you'll make the act of reviewing easier if you first limit scope of the research problem. A good strategy is to begin by searching the USC Libraries Catalog for recent books about the topic and review the table of contents for chapters that focuses on specific issues. You can also review the indexes of books to find references to specific issues that can serve as the focus of your research. For example, a book surveying the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may include a chapter on the role Egypt has played in mediating the conflict, or look in the index for the pages where Egypt is mentioned in the text. Consider Whether Your Sources are Current Some disciplines require that you use information that is as current as possible. This is particularly true in disciplines in medicine and the sciences where research conducted becomes obsolete very quickly as new discoveries are made. However, when writing a review in the social sciences, a survey of the history of the literature may be required. In other words, a complete understanding the research problem requires you to deliberately examine how knowledge and perspectives have changed over time. Sort through other current bibliographies or literature reviews in the field to get a sense of what your discipline expects. You can also use this method to explore what is considered by scholars to be a "hot topic" and what is not.

III.  Ways to Organize Your Literature Review

Chronology of Events If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the materials according to when they were published. This approach should only be followed if a clear path of research building on previous research can be identified and that these trends follow a clear chronological order of development. For example, a literature review that focuses on continuing research about the emergence of German economic power after the fall of the Soviet Union. By Publication Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order demonstrates a more important trend. For instance, you could order a review of literature on environmental studies of brown fields if the progression revealed, for example, a change in the soil collection practices of the researchers who wrote and/or conducted the studies. Thematic [“conceptual categories”] A thematic literature review is the most common approach to summarizing prior research in the social and behavioral sciences. Thematic reviews are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time, although the progression of time may still be incorporated into a thematic review. For example, a review of the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics could focus on the development of online political satire. While the study focuses on one topic, the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics, it would still be organized chronologically reflecting technological developments in media. The difference in this example between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: themes related to the role of the Internet in presidential politics. Note that more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point being made. Methodological A methodological approach focuses on the methods utilized by the researcher. For the Internet in American presidential politics project, one methodological approach would be to look at cultural differences between the portrayal of American presidents on American, British, and French websites. Or the review might focus on the fundraising impact of the Internet on a particular political party. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed.

Other Sections of Your Literature Review Once you've decided on the organizational method for your literature review, the sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out because they arise from your organizational strategy. In other words, a chronological review would have subsections for each vital time period; a thematic review would have subtopics based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue. However, sometimes you may need to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the organizational strategy of the body. What other sections you include in the body is up to you. However, only include what is necessary for the reader to locate your study within the larger scholarship about the research problem.

Here are examples of other sections, usually in the form of a single paragraph, you may need to include depending on the type of review you write:

• Current Situation : Information necessary to understand the current topic or focus of the literature review.
• Sources Used : Describes the methods and resources [e.g., databases] you used to identify the literature you reviewed.
• History : The chronological progression of the field, the research literature, or an idea that is necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is not already a chronology.
• Selection Methods : Criteria you used to select (and perhaps exclude) sources in your literature review. For instance, you might explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed [i.e., scholarly] sources.
• Standards : Description of the way in which you present your information.
• Questions for Further Research : What questions about the field has the review sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?

IV.  Writing Your Literature Review

Once you've settled on how to organize your literature review, you're ready to write each section. When writing your review, keep in mind these issues.

Use Evidence A literature review section is, in this sense, just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence [citations] that demonstrates that what you are saying is valid. Be Selective Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the research problem, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological. Related items that provide additional information, but that are not key to understanding the research problem, can be included in a list of further readings . Use Quotes Sparingly Some short quotes are appropriate if you want to emphasize a point, or if what an author stated cannot be easily paraphrased. Sometimes you may need to quote certain terminology that was coined by the author, is not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study. Do not use extensive quotes as a substitute for using your own words in reviewing the literature. Summarize and Synthesize Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each thematic paragraph as well as throughout the review. Recapitulate important features of a research study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to your own work and the work of others. Keep Your Own Voice While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice [the writer's] should remain front and center. For example, weave references to other sources into what you are writing but maintain your own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with your own ideas and wording. Use Caution When Paraphrasing When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's information or opinions accurately and in your own words. Even when paraphrasing an author’s work, you still must provide a citation to that work.

V.  Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the most common mistakes made in reviewing social science research literature.

• Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research problem;
• You do not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevant sources to use in the literature review related to the research problem;
• Relies exclusively on secondary analytical sources rather than including relevant primary research studies or data;
• Uncritically accepts another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis;
• Does not describe the search procedures that were used in identifying the literature to review;
• Reports isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them in chi-squared or meta-analytic methods; and,
• Only includes research that validates assumptions and does not consider contrary findings and alternative interpretations found in the literature.

Cook, Kathleen E. and Elise Murowchick. “Do Literature Review Skills Transfer from One Course to Another?” Psychology Learning and Teaching 13 (March 2014): 3-11; Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . London: SAGE, 2011; Literature Review Handout. Online Writing Center. Liberty University; Literature Reviews. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2016; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012; Randolph, Justus J. “A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review." Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. vol. 14, June 2009; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016; Taylor, Dena. The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Writing a Literature Review. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra.

Writing Tip

Break Out of Your Disciplinary Box!

Thinking interdisciplinarily about a research problem can be a rewarding exercise in applying new ideas, theories, or concepts to an old problem. For example, what might cultural anthropologists say about the continuing conflict in the Middle East? In what ways might geographers view the need for better distribution of social service agencies in large cities than how social workers might study the issue? You don’t want to substitute a thorough review of core research literature in your discipline for studies conducted in other fields of study. However, particularly in the social sciences, thinking about research problems from multiple vectors is a key strategy for finding new solutions to a problem or gaining a new perspective. Consult with a librarian about identifying research databases in other disciplines; almost every field of study has at least one comprehensive database devoted to indexing its research literature.

Frodeman, Robert. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity . New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Another Writing Tip

Don't Just Review for Content!

While conducting a review of the literature, maximize the time you devote to writing this part of your paper by thinking broadly about what you should be looking for and evaluating. Review not just what scholars are saying, but how are they saying it. Some questions to ask:

• How are they organizing their ideas?
• What methods have they used to study the problem?
• What theories have been used to explain, predict, or understand their research problem?
• What sources have they cited to support their conclusions?
• How have they used non-textual elements [e.g., charts, graphs, figures, etc.] to illustrate key points?

When you begin to write your literature review section, you'll be glad you dug deeper into how the research was designed and constructed because it establishes a means for developing more substantial analysis and interpretation of the research problem.

Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1 998.

Yet Another Writing Tip

When Do I Know I Can Stop Looking and Move On?

Here are several strategies you can utilize to assess whether you've thoroughly reviewed the literature:

• Look for repeating patterns in the research findings . If the same thing is being said, just by different people, then this likely demonstrates that the research problem has hit a conceptual dead end. At this point consider: Does your study extend current research?  Does it forge a new path? Or, does is merely add more of the same thing being said?
• Look at sources the authors cite to in their work . If you begin to see the same researchers cited again and again, then this is often an indication that no new ideas have been generated to address the research problem.
• Search Google Scholar to identify who has subsequently cited leading scholars already identified in your literature review [see next sub-tab]. This is called citation tracking and there are a number of sources that can help you identify who has cited whom, particularly scholars from outside of your discipline. Here again, if the same authors are being cited again and again, this may indicate no new literature has been written on the topic.

Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2016; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

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Primary and secondary sources: what are they and why do I need them?

What are the main differences between primary and secondary sources?

Why do i need to use both primary and secondary sources in my research, examples of primary and secondary sources, frequently asked questions about primary and secondary sources, related articles.

Primary and secondary sources are the two main types of source materials that you will use for your research project. They are both important and needed for your project. Whether you are going to use more primary or more secondary sources depends on your academic level - undergrad, postgrad, or professional.

Both types of sources have importance and merits of their own, but they are also immensely different. This guide will help you understand the differences. If you want to learn even more about both source types separately, where and how you can access them, and when and how to use them, check out the links below:

➡️  What is a primary source?

➡️  What is a secondary source?

The main difference between primary and secondary sources is that primary sources are contemporary.

Primary sources are original and originated from the event they refer to. They are not reviews, analyses, or critiques of events that occurred in the past. They are first-hand information.

Secondary sources are summaries, critiques, opinions, and analyses. They are written by people who did not witness, or have any direct part to play in the event they are describing. The information they contain is based on primary sources and is the author’s interpretation of the event/subject they are covering.

Using both types of sources adds to the merit of your research. By including references to secondary sources , you are showing that you have truly engaged with your research topic. You are providing extra information and displaying a well-rounded approach to your topic. You are not relying solely on the work of one person, or one institution, for your analysis to be based upon. You are reading broadly and contextually.

Likewise, including primary source references in your research shows that you are also going back to the roots. You are looking at the event or object as it happened, without being able to teleport through time and space. A primary source is vital because it will enable you to make your own judgement on an event or object. Secondary sources are always biased, in one sense or another, so engaging with the primary source yourself allows you to view the topic objectively.

Primary and secondary sources complement each other - looking at both can give you a deeper understanding of each. A primary source can help you to evaluate a secondary source - you will notice aspects of it which the author dismisses, or washes over in their discussion. Likewise, a secondary source can tell you about current trends in research and analysis, while providing you with a broad overview or summary of an extended period of time, or the works of an artist.

We have put together a list of examples of primary and secondary sources by fields of study. It will help you identify the nature of your source.

Primary sources are original and originated from the event they refer to. They are not reviews, analyses, or critiques of events that occurred in the past. They are first-hand information. For a more detailed description of what a primary source is, where you can access them, and why you need to use them, see this article about primary sources .

Secondary sources are summaries, critiques, opinions, and analyses. They are written by people who did not witness, or have any direct part to play in the event they are describing. The information they contain is based on primary sources, and is the author’s interpretation of the event/subject they are covering. See this article about secondary sources for further information.

Some examples of primary sources are: Poems, diaries, letters, paintings, government records, maps, interviews (transcribed or recorded), photographs, newspaper articles, results of experiments, case studies, results of clinical trials, minutes of meetings, and proceedings of conferences

Some examples of secondary sources are: Biographies, histories, reviews, encyclopaedias, literary criticism, discussions of importance, analysis of clinical trials, and reviews of results.

The one main difference between primary and secondary sources is that primary sources are contemporary and secondary sources are not.

University Library

Distinguish between primary and secondary sources.

• Further Information

Introduction

1. Introduction

Whether conducting research in the social sciences, humanities (especially history), arts, or natural sciences, the ability to distinguish between primary and secondary source material is essential. Basically, this distinction illustrates the degree to which the author of a piece is removed from the actual event being described, informing the reader as to whether the author is reporting impressions first hand (or is first to record these immediately following an event), or conveying the experiences and opinions of others—that is, second hand .  

2. Primary sources

These are contemporary accounts of an event, written by someone who experienced or witnessed the event in question. These original documents (i.e., they are not about another document or account) are often diaries, letters, memoirs, journals, speeches, manuscripts, interviews and other such unpublished works. They may also include published pieces such as newspaper or magazine articles (as long as they are written soon after the fact and not as historical accounts), photographs, audio or video recordings, research reports in the natural or social sciences, or original literary or theatrical works.  

3. Secondary sources

The function of these is to interpret primary sources , and so can be described as at least one step removed from the event or phenomenon under review. Secondary source materials, then, interpret, assign value to, conjecture upon, and draw conclusions about the events reported in primary sources. These are usually in the form of published works such as journal articles or books, but may include radio or television documentaries, or conference proceedings.  

4. Defining questions

When evaluating primary or secondary sources, the following questions might be asked to help ascertain the nature and value of material being considered:

• How does the author know these details (names, dates, times)? Was the author present at the event or soon on the scene?
• Where does this information come from—personal experience, eyewitness accounts, or reports written by others?
• Are the author's conclusions based on a single piece of evidence, or have many sources been taken into account (e.g., diary entries, along with third-party eyewitness accounts, impressions of contemporaries, newspaper accounts)?

Ultimately, all source materials of whatever type must be assessed critically and even the most scrupulous and thorough work is viewed through the eyes of the writer/interpreter. This must be taken into account when one is attempting to arrive at the 'truth' of an event.

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Land Acknowledgement

The land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, comprised of the descendants of indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish colonization of the Central Coast, is today working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices on these lands and heal from historical trauma.

The land acknowledgement used at UC Santa Cruz was developed in partnership with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Chairman and the Amah Mutsun Relearning Program at the UCSC Arboretum .

Conducting a Literature Review: Types of Literature

• Introduction
• 1. Choose Your Topic

Types of Literature

• 3. Search the Literature
• 4. Read & Analyze the Literature
• 5. Write the Review
• Keeping Track of Information
• Style Guides

Different types of publications have different characteristics.

Primary Literature Primary sources means original studies, based on direct observation, use of statistical records, interviews, or experimental methods, of actual practices or the actual impact of practices or policies. They are authored by researchers, contains original research data, and are usually published in a peer-reviewed journal. Primary literature may also include conference papers, pre-prints, or preliminary reports. Also called empirical research .

Secondary Literature Secondary literature consists of interpretations and evaluations that are derived from or refer to the primary source literature. Examples include review articles (such as meta-analysis and systematic reviews) and reference works. Professionals within each discipline take the primary literature and synthesize, generalize, and integrate new research.

Tertiary Literature Tertiary literature consists of a distillation and collection of primary and secondary sources such as textbooks, encyclopedia articles, and guidebooks or handbooks. The purpose of tertiary literature is to provide an overview of key research findings and an introduction to principles and practices within the discipline.

Adapted from the Information Services Department of the Library of the Health Sciences-Chicago , University of Illinois at Chicago.

Types of Scientific Publications

These examples and descriptions of publication types will give you an idea of how to use various works and why you would want to write a particular kind of paper.

• Scholarly article aka empirical article
• Review article
• Conference paper

Scholarly (aka empirical) article -- example

Empirical studies use data derived from observation or experiment. Original research papers (also called primary research articles) that describe empirical studies and their results are published in academic journals.  Articles that report empirical research contain different sections which relate to the steps of the scientific method.

      Abstract - The abstract provides a very brief summary of the research.

     Introduction - The introduction sets the research in a context, which provides a review of related research and develops the hypotheses for the research.

     Method - The method section describes how the research was conducted.

     Results - The results section describes the outcomes of the study.

     Discussion - The discussion section contains the interpretations and implications of the study.

     References - A references section lists the articles, books, and other material cited in the report.

Review article -- example

A review article summarizes a particular field of study and places the recent research in context. It provides an overview and is an excellent introduction to a subject area. The references used in a review article are helpful as they lead to more in-depth research.

Many databases have limits or filters to search for review articles. You can also search by keywords like review article, survey, overview, summary, etc.

Conference proceedings, abstracts and reports -- example

Conference proceedings, abstracts and reports are not usually peer-reviewed.  A conference article is similar to a scholarly article insofar as it is academic. Conference articles are published much more quickly than scholarly articles. You can find conference papers in many of the same places as scholarly articles.

How Do You Identify Empirical Articles?

To identify an article based on empirical research, look for the following characteristics:

     The article is published in a peer-reviewed journal .

     The article includes charts, graphs, or statistical analysis .

     The article is substantial in size , likely to be more than 5 pages long.

     The article contains the following parts (the exact terms may vary): abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, references .

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• Scientific Research and Communication
• Primary and Secondary Sources

Scientific Research and Communication — Primary and Secondary Sources

• Essential Resources
• The Scientific Method
• Types of Scientific Papers
• Organization of a Scientific Paper
• Peer Review & Academic Journals
• Scientific Information Literacy
• Critical Reading Methods
• Scientific Writing Guidebooks
• Science Literature Reviews
• Searching Strategies for Science Databases
• Engineering Career Exploration
• Qualitative Research: What is it?
• Quantitative Research: What Is It?
• AI Tools for Research
• Avoiding Plagiarism

Primary & Secondary Sources in the Sciences - Overview

Primary Sources

In the sciences, primary sources are very specific.  Primary source documents in the sciences focus on original research, ideas, or findings and are most often published in scholarly journals or presented at academic conferences.  These articles or presen tati ons mark the first publication of such research; they present new data and detail the researcher’s methodology and results.

Primary sources are factual, not interpretive, and include sources such as

• published results of research studies, experiments, clinical trials
• proceedings of conferences and meetings
• technical reports

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources in the sciences analyze and interpret primary research results.  These sources usually have the goal of summarizing, explaining, or providing an overview of a topic, and can help place the research in context.  Secondary literature is often published in books, magazines, or journals.

Secondary sources include sources such as

• review articles, which summarize previously published studies
• articles that discuss the significance of published research or experiments
• analyses of clinical trials

Identifying Primary Research Articles in the Sciences (video)

video from University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries

Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Sources

• Humanities/Social Sciences

Informational sources can be classified roughly into three groups - primary, secondary, and tertiary - that reflect their originality. These groups are defined generally below.

Primary sources are original, uninterpreted information. Unedited, firsthand access to words, images, or objects created by persons directly involved in an activity or event or speaking directly for a group. This is information before it has been analyzed, interpreted, commented upon, spun, or repackaged. Depending upon the context, these may include research reports, sales receipts, speeches, e-mails, original artwork, manuscripts, photos, diaries, personal letters, spoken stories/tales/interviews, diplomatic records, etc.

Think of physical evidence or eyewitness testimony in a court trial.

Secondary sources interpret, analyze, or summarize. Commentary upon, or analysis of, events, ideas, or primary sources. Because they are often written significantly after events by parties not directly involved but who have special expertise, they may provide historical context or critical perspectives. Examples are scholarly books, journals, magazines, criticism, interpretations, and so forth.

Think of a lawyer's final summation or jury discussion in a court trial.

Tertiary sources compile, index, or organize sources.   Sources which analyzed, compiled and digest secondary sources included mostly in abstracts, bibliographies, handbooks, encyclopedias, indexes, chronologies, etc.

Think of an index that lists all the cases heard by this court during the year.

In the humanities and social sciences, primary sources are the direct evidence or first-hand accounts of events without secondary analysis or interpretation. A primary source is a work that was created or written contemporary with the period or subject being studied. Secondary sources analyze or interpret historical events or creative works.

Primary sources

• Autobiographies
• Original works of art
• Photographs
• Works of literature

A primary source is an original document containing firsthand information about a topic. Different fields of study may use different types of primary sources.

Secondary sources

• Biographies
• Dissertations
• Indexes, abstracts, bibliographies (used to locate a secondary source)
• Journal articles
• Book about a primary source

A secondary source contains commentary on or discussion about a primary source. The most important feature of secondary sources is that they offer an interpretation of information gathered from primary sources.

Tertiary sources

• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias

A tertiary source presents summaries or condensed versions of materials, usually with references back to the primary and/or secondary sources. They can be a good place to look up facts or get a general overview of a subject, but they rarely contain original material.

Adapted from lib.vt.edu  

In the sciences, primary sources are documents written by the person(s) who conducted the original research. For example, a primary source would be a research article where scientists describe their methodology, results, and conclusions about the genetics of tobacco plants. A secondary source would be an article commenting or analyzing the scientists' research on tobacco.

• Conference proceedings
• Original research articles
• Lab notebooks
• Technical reports

These sources are where the results of original research are usually first published in the sciences. This makes them the best source of information on cutting edge topics. However the new ideas presented may not be fully refined or validated yet.

• Review Articles

These sources tend to summarize the existing state of knowledge in a field at the time of publication. Secondary sources are useful places to learn about your topic in depth. They are useful places to find comparisons of different ideas and theories and to see how they may have changed over time.

• Compilations

These types of sources present condensed material, generally with references back to the primary and/or secondary literature. They can be a good place to look up data or to get an overview of a subject, but they rarely contain original material.

modified from l ib.vt.edu

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Research Process

• Brainstorming
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Primary Sources

Primary resources contain first-hand information, meaning that you are reading the author’s own account on a specific topic or event that s/he participated in. Examples of primary resources include scholarly research articles, books, and diaries. Primary sources such as research articles often do not explain terminology and theoretical principles in detail. Thus, readers of primary scholarly research should have foundational knowledge of the subject area. Use primary resources to obtain a first-hand account to an actual event and identify original research done in a field. For many of your papers, use of primary resources will be a requirement.

Examples of a primary source are:

• Original documents such as diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, records, eyewitness accounts, autobiographies
• Empirical scholarly works such as research articles, clinical reports, case studies, dissertations
• Creative works such as poetry, music, video, photography

How to locate primary research in NU Library:

• From the Library's homepage, begin your search in NavigatorSearch or select a subject-specific database from the A-Z Databases .
• Use the Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed Journal limiter to narrow your search to journal articles.
• Once you have a set of search results, remember to look for articles where the author has conducted original research. A primary research article will include a literature review, methodology, population or set sample, test or measurement, discussion of findings and usually future research directions.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources describe, summarize, or discuss information or details originally presented in another source; meaning the author, in most cases, did not participate in the event. This type of source is written for a broad audience and will include definitions of discipline specific terms, history relating to the topic, significant theories and principles, and summaries of major studies/events as related to the topic. Use secondary sources to obtain an overview of a topic and/or identify primary resources. Refrain from including such resources in an annotated bibliography for doctoral level work unless there is a good reason.

Examples of a secondary source are:

• Publications such as textbooks, magazine articles, book reviews, commentaries, encyclopedias, almanacs

Locate  secondary resources in NU Library within the following databases:

• Annual Reviews (scholarly article reviews)
• Credo Reference (encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks & more)
• Ebook Central (ebooks)
• ProQuest (book reviews, bibliographies, literature reviews & more )
• SAGE Reference Methods, SAGE Knowledge & SAGE Navigator (handbooks, encyclopedias, major works, debates & more)
• Most other Library databases include secondary sources. 

Beginning the Resarch Process Workshop

This workshop introduces to the beginning stages of the research process, focusing on identifying different types of information, as well as gathering background information through electronic books.

• Beginning the Research Process Workshop Outline

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Understanding scientific literature, primary sources, secondary sources, tertiary sources.

• Identifying a Research Article
• Scholarly vs. Popular Literature

What are primary sources?

In the sciences primary sources are original research or data. Primary sources can include any of the following publications 

• Journal Articles -- Journal articles can be primary sources if they contain original research, but keep in mind that not all journal articles are primary sources.
• Reports -- Reports are publications on research that are published independently of a journal. They are often published by governments or companies.
• Theses and Dissertations -- Theses and Dissertations are the original research of an academic working on a degree. 
• Conference Proceedings -- Conference Proceedings are a collection of papers that have been presented at a conference. 
• Published Data -- Data can be considered a primary source, as it is the product of original research.

Why use primary sources?

  Primary sources are a researchers firsthand account of their research. They provide an in depth view into how the research was conducted, and may contain supplemental materials like questionnaires used. A summary of a study or experiment in a book or review paper may not discuss all the findings, and you can gain more insight into a particular topic or issue by looking at the primary sources. 

How to find primary sources:

Resources for finding primary sources include: 

• Databases and Indexes -- The exact database or index you choose to search will depend on the discipline you are searching in. 
• Review Papers -- Review papers are often synthesized from other researchers to give an in-depth understanding of the current state of knowledge on a topic. If you have found a review paper when you are looking for a research paper don't fear! If the review paper is on the write topic it will cite plenty of research papers on your topic of interest. 

What are secondary sources?

In the sciences secondary sources analyze, interpret, summarize, or evaluate the findings of primary sources. Secondary sources can include any of the following publications: 

• Journal review articles -- A review article summarizes past research on a given topic. Review articles can range from highly intensive systematic or integrative reviews or less rigorous literature reviews.
• Textbooks -- The information in textbooks in the sciences is the product of past research.  
• Monographs -- A monograph is a book-length scholarly publication dedicated to a single topic. 

Secondary sources can save you time by providing information on the current state of knowledge on a given topic, and also as a way to find primary resources. If you are interested to know what are important, seminal papers in on a topic look at what papers are cited in a textbook on that topic. Review papers can give you in-depth information on a particular research area. Secondary resources are also often less technical than primary resources. 

How to find secondary sources:

Resources for finding secondary sources 

• Databases and Indexes -- Databases and indexes are particularly useful for finding review articles.  
• The Library Catalog or Ram Search -- The library catalog or Ram Search will help you locate books on the topic you are interested in. 

What are tertiary sources?

In the sciences tertiary resources are synthesized from primary and secondary resources. They usually provide summaries on the current state of knowledge. Tertiary sources can include the following publications: 

• Encyclopedias
• Dictionaries 
• Factbooks 
• Almanacs 

Why use tertiary sources?

Tertiary sources can be viewed as a jumping off point for your own research. They provide succinct  summaries on topics, and can be a good way to familiarize yourself with the terminology on a topic before you begin searching the databases.

How to find tertiary sources:

Resources for finding tertiary sources include: 

• The Library Catalog or Ram Search -- Keep in mind a majority of our encyclopedias are in the reference room. 
• LibGuides and the Library Website -- We have a number of digital encyclopedias. Check the LibGuide for your field to see what digital encyclopedias we might offer!
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Evaluating Resources: Primary & Secondary Sources

Primary v. secondary sources.

A question to ask yourself when trying to identify primary or secondary sources is:

Did the person writing the thing do the thing?

While this may sound odd, the best indicator that something is a primary source is if the author of the piece actually DID the work that led to the creation of the resource.

These are some other things to consider with primary and secondary sources.

• Primary and secondary sources can be different publication types. Articles can be primary or secondary, just as books can be.
• Primary and secondary sources are not related to peer review in any way. Peer-reviewed articles can be either primary or secondary sources.
• There is no perfect database limiter for primary or secondary, either. There are no check boxes like there are with with peer review.
• Primary and secondary sources don't self identify as such. Nowhere in a primary source will it say, "this is a primary source." You need to evaluate the resource to figure it out.

Primary sources

In primary source documents, the person writing the piece actually did the research, or witnessed the event, or created something entirely new. These are some examples of primary sources:

• An author completes original research and then writes about it.
• An author writes about his or her experience of an event.
• An author creates an original theory or philosophy, and then writes about it.
• An author writes an original novel.

Secondary sources

Secondary sources evaluate or analyze what others have done or witnessed or created. The authors didn't go out and do it, they just analyzed it or wrote about it. These are some examples of secondary sources:

• Authors gather together a lot of primary research studies and then analyze them.  
• An author chooses a topic, finds a lot of articles on that topic, and writes about the topic based on other authors' research.  
• An author analyzes an original creative work.

Identifying primary & secondary sources

When looking at a resource to determine whether it is primary or secondary, words that describe the action of the author can be helpful. For example,  words like these can indicate actual research carried out:

• experimented
• investigated

In secondary resources, since the focus is on analyzing or discussion of a primary source, you would look for words that describe the action of the author indicating that this is an analysis or discussion, such as:

• reported on

You will need to examine the abstract and/or the article to determine if the resource is primary or secondary. While the words above can help indicate the type of resource, this is not a cut and dried process where if you see a particular word, that means the resource is always primary.

Locating a findings section in an article doesn't mean the source is either primary or secondary. Check to see whether the authors did the research themselves, or whether they analyzed research done by others.

Primary source example

For example, in the article, "School counselors' strategies for social justice change: A grounded theory of what works in the real world," these are some of the key elements from the abstract that indicate that it is a primary, research article:

• qualitative study
• grounded theory methodology
• explore the strategies that 16 school counselors
• Findings included seven overarching themes

The primary source authors actually talked to 16 school counselors, using grounded methodology, to come up with their findings based on the research that the authors actually did. Here, the authors did the research themselves and then reported on it.

Singh, A. A., Urbano, A., Haston, M., & McMahon, E. (2010). School counselors' strategies for social justice change: A grounded theory of what works in the real world. Professional School Counseling , 13 (3), 135-145. https://doi.org/10.5330/PSC.n.2010-13.135

• Abstract of School counselors' strategies for social justice change: A grounded theory of what works in the real world (PDF)

Secondary source example

This is an example of an article that is a secondary source, with some of the key elements highlighted:

In the article abstract, "Advocacy for health equity: A synthesis review," these are some of the key elements that indicate it is a secondary source article:

• aim of this review is to synthesize the evidence in the academic and gray literature
• systematic review of the academic literature and a fixed-length systematic search of the gray literature
• anaylzed our findings
• synthesized our findings
• made a critical appraisal of the literature
• brings together for the first time evidence from the academic and the gray literature and provides a building block for efforts to advocate for health equity

What makes the secondary source secondary is that the authors used other authors' research, analyzing and synthesizing the information to come up with their conclusions, or findings.

Farrer, L., Marinetti, C., Cavaco, Y. K., & Costongs, C. (2015). Advocacy for health equity: A synthesis review. Milbank Quarterly , 93 (2), 392-437. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.12112

• Abstract of Advocacy for health equity: A synthesis review (PDF)
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How To Do Secondary Research or a Literature Review

What is secondary research, why is secondary research important.

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Secondary research, also known as a literature review , preliminary research , historical research , background research , desk research , or library research , is research that analyzes or describes prior research. Rather than generating and analyzing new data, secondary research analyzes existing research results to establish the boundaries of knowledge on a topic, to identify trends or new practices, to test mathematical models or train machine learning systems, or to verify facts and figures. Secondary research is also used to justify the need for primary research as well as to justify and support other activities. For example, secondary research may be used to support a proposal to modernize a manufacturing plant, to justify the use of newly a developed treatment for cancer, to strengthen a business proposal, or to validate points made in a speech.

Because secondary research is used for so many purposes in so many settings, all professionals will be required to perform it at some point in their careers. For managers and entrepreneurs, regardless of the industry or profession, secondary research is a regular part of worklife, although parts of the research, such as finding the supporting documents, are often delegated to juniors in the organization. For all these reasons, it is essential to learn how to conduct secondary research, even if you are unlikely to ever conduct primary research.

Secondary research is also essential if your main goal is primary research. Research funding is obtained only by using secondary research to show the need for the primary research you want to conduct. In fact, primary research depends on secondary research to prove that it is indeed new and original research and not just a rehash or replication of somebody else’s work.

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Primary and Secondary Literature in the Sciences

Category: Primary sources

Purpose: General Interest

Audience(s): Undergraduate student

Primary Literature

Scientists advance scientific knowledge through the publication their original research results. Publication of a scientist’s results is known as primary literature. In general, most primary literature follows a pattern containing an abstract, the authors’ names and affiliations, an introduction, a methods/materials section, results, discussion, conclusion and reference list. Most of primary scientific literature comes in the form of a journal article, where each article represents one consistent theme of experimentation and results. Because the methodology is described, primary literature provides the opportunity for others to duplicate, repeat or extend the research protocols. Examples of primary sources include journal papers, conference papers, technical reports and thesis and dissertations.

Secondary Literature

When scientists integrate, condense or summarize results from primary literature into review articles or books, this represents secondary literature. They are extremely useful in providing a broad overview of a field and usually provide more background information and less technical methodology. Secondary literature usually has no abstract and the data, figures or images are taken from other sources. Examples of secondary sources include reviews, monographs, books, treatises, and manuals.

Peer-Review

Primary resources are usually vetted through other researchers who are familiar with the topic. This is the process of peer-review. This lends credence and authority to a publication. Peer-review is not a process for detecting fraud but a way of ensuring that scientists are reading quality work from other researchers. [NOTE: Do not confuse peer-review and a review article. Peer-review is a process that a particular article will undergo and is a designation given to a particular journal. A review article is an article that represents a summary of a particular topic and is a designation given to an article.]

Comparison between Primary and Secondary Literature Table.

Examples of Primary Sources in the Sciences

• Journal articles
• Technical reports
• Conference papers or proceedings
• Thesis & dissertations
• Lab notebooks (may not be published)
• Field notes (may not be published)

Examples of Secondary Sources in the Sciences

• Dictionaries
• Directories
• Encyclopedias
• Government Policy
• Law and Legislation
• Public Opinion
• Social Policy

Getting Started

Begin by looking for secondary literature. Most databases (electronic collections of journal articles that are searchable) will allow you to filter your results to look for review articles. This is helpful because it provides context to your searching. Understand that the Library has paid millions of dollars for resources so searching our databases will provide you with information and access that you cannot always get through Google. If you use information from a website make sure you provide the reference information for that site. Decide on a citation style and stay consistent. This is where an online Reference Manager like Mendeley ( www.mendeley.com ) and Zotero ( www.zotero.org ) can be very helpful. Remember these tools are not fool proof and you will have to read over any reference list generated for you.

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Primary and Secondary Scientific Sources: Primary vs. Secondary Sources

• Primary vs. Secondary Sources
• Comparing & Verifying Sources
• Popular or Scholarly?
• Choosing the Appropriate Resources

Types of Science Source Articles

Primary sources are original works like research, paintings, plays, interviews, statistical tables, diaries, letters, etc. The author is the writer/creator of the original work. Most disciplines publish their original research in journal articles. These articles are considered primary sources.

Secondary sources are critiques, descriptions or reviews of original works.  This includes critiques of play, review articles that discuss somebody else's original research, etc.  Secondary sources are written by someone other than the author of the original work.  

Scientific primary sources focus on the research done

ID Primary & Secondary Sources

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• Literature Review Guidelines

Making sense of what has been written on your topic.

Goals of a literature review:.

Before doing work in primary sources, historians must know what has been written on their topic.  They must be familiar with theories and arguments–as well as facts–that appear in secondary sources.

Before you proceed with your research project, you too must be familiar with the literature: you do not want to waste time on theories that others have disproved and you want to take full advantage of what others have argued.  You want to be able to discuss and analyze your topic.

Your literature review will demonstrate your familiarity with your topic’s secondary literature.

GUIDELINES FOR A LITERATURE REVIEW:

1) LENGTH:  8-10 pages of text for Senior Theses (485) (consult with your professor for other classes), with either footnotes or endnotes and with a works-consulted bibliography. [See also the  citation guide  on this site.]

2) NUMBER OF WORKS REVIEWED: Depends on the assignment, but for Senior Theses (485), at least ten is typical.

3) CHOOSING WORKS:

Your literature review must include enough works to provide evidence of both the breadth and the depth of the research on your topic or, at least, one important angle of it.  The number of works necessary to do this will depend on your topic. For most topics, AT LEAST TEN works (mostly books but also significant scholarly articles) are necessary, although you will not necessarily give all of them equal treatment in your paper (e.g., some might appear in notes rather than the essay). 4) ORGANIZING/ARRANGING THE LITERATURE:

As you uncover the literature (i.e., secondary writing) on your topic, you should determine how the various pieces relate to each other.  Your ability to do so will demonstrate your understanding of the evolution of literature.

You might determine that the literature makes sense when divided by time period, by methodology, by sources, by discipline, by thematic focus, by race, ethnicity, and/or gender of author, or by political ideology.  This list is not exhaustive.  You might also decide to subdivide categories based on other criteria.  There is no “rule” on divisions—historians wrote the literature without consulting each other and without regard to the goal of fitting into a neat, obvious organization useful to students.

The key step is to FIGURE OUT the most logical, clarifying angle.  Do not arbitrarily choose a categorization; use the one that the literature seems to fall into.  How do you do that?  For every source, you should note its thesis, date, author background, methodology, and sources.  Does a pattern appear when you consider such information from each of your sources?  If so, you have a possible thesis about the literature.  If not, you might still have a thesis.

Consider: Are there missing elements in the literature?  For example, no works published during a particular (usually fairly lengthy) time period?  Or do studies appear after long neglect of a topic?  Do interpretations change at some point?  Does the major methodology being used change?  Do interpretations vary based on sources used?

Follow these links for more help on analyzing  historiography  and  historical perspective .

5) CONTENTS OF LITERATURE REVIEW:

The literature review is a research paper with three ingredients:

a) A brief discussion of the issue (the person, event, idea). [While this section should be brief, it needs to set up the thesis and literature that follow.] b) Your thesis about the literature c) A clear argument, using the works on topic as evidence, i.e., you discuss the sources in relation to your thesis, not as a separate topic.

These ingredients must be presented in an essay with an introduction, body, and conclusion.

6) ARGUING YOUR THESIS:

The thesis of a literature review should not only describe how the literature has evolved, but also provide a clear evaluation of that literature.  You should assess the literature in terms of the quality of either individual works or categories of works.  For instance, you might argue that a certain approach (e.g. social history, cultural history, or another) is better because it deals with a more complex view of the issue or because they use a wider array of source materials more effectively. You should also ensure that you integrate that evaluation throughout your argument.  Doing so might include negative assessments of some works in order to reinforce your argument regarding the positive qualities of other works and approaches to the topic.

Within each group, you should provide essential information about each work: the author’s thesis, the work’s title and date, the author’s supporting arguments and major evidence.

In most cases, arranging the sources chronologically by publication date within each section makes the most sense because earlier works influenced later ones in one way or another.  Reference to publication date also indicates that you are aware of this significant historiographical element.

As you discuss each work, DO NOT FORGET WHY YOU ARE DISCUSSING IT.  YOU ARE PRESENTING AND SUPPORTING A THESIS ABOUT THE LITERATURE.

When discussing a particular work for the first time, you should refer to it by the author’s full name, the work’s title, and year of publication (either in parentheses after the title or worked into the sentence).

For example, “The field of slavery studies has recently been transformed by Ben Johnson’s The New Slave (2001)” and “Joe Doe argues in his 1997 study, Slavery in America, that . . . .”

Your paper should always note secondary sources’ relationship to each other, particularly in terms of your thesis about the literature (e.g., “Unlike Smith’s work, Mary Brown’s analysis reaches the conclusion that . . . .” and “Because of Anderson’s reliance on the president’s personal papers, his interpretation differs from Barry’s”). The various pieces of the literature are “related” to each other, so you need to indicate to the reader some of that relationship.  (It helps the reader follow your thesis, and it convinces the reader that you know what you are talking about.)

7) DOCUMENTATION:

Each source you discuss in your paper must be documented using footnotes/endnotes and a bibliography.  Providing author and title and date in the paper is not sufficient.  Use correct Turabian/Chicago Manual of Style form.  [See  Bibliography  and  Footnotes/Endnotes  pages.]

In addition, further supporting, but less significant, sources should be included in  content foot or endnotes .  (e.g., “For a similar argument to Ben Johnson’s, see John Terry, The Slave Who Was New (New York: W. W. Norton, 1985), 3-45.”)

8 ) CONCLUSION OF LITERATURE REVIEW:

Your conclusion should not only reiterate your argument (thesis), but also discuss questions that remain unanswered by the literature.  What has the literature accomplished?  What has not been studied?  What debates need to be settled?

Additional writing guidelines

History and American Studies

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Peer-Reviewed Literature: Peer-Reviewed Research: Primary vs. Secondary

• Peer-Reviewed Research: Primary vs. Secondary
• Types of Peer Review
• Identifying Peer-Reviewed Research

Peer Reviewed Research

Published literature can be either peer-reviewed or non-peer-reviewed. Official research reports are almost always peer reviewed while a journal's other content is usually not. In the health sciences, official research can be primary, secondary, or even tertiary. It can be an original experiment or investigation (primary), an analysis or evaluation of primary research (secondary), or findings that compile secondary research (tertiary). If you are doing research yourself, then primary or secondary sources can reveal more in-depth information.

Primary Research

Primary research is information presented in its original form without interpretation by other researchers. While it may acknowledge previous studies or sources, it always presents original thinking, reports on discoveries, or new information about a topic.

Health sciences research that is primary includes both experimental trials and observational studies where subjects may be tested for outcomes or investigated to gain relevant insight.  Randomized Controlled Trials are the most prominent experimental design because randomized subjects offer the most compelling evidence for the effectiveness of an intervention. See the below graphic and below powerpoint for further information on primary research studies.

• Research Design

Secondary Research

Secondary research is an account of original events or facts. It is secondary to and retrospective of the actual findings from an experiment or trial. These studies may be appraised summaries, reviews, or interpretations of primary sources and often exclude the original researcher(s). In the health sciences, meta-analysis and systematic reviews are the most frequent types of secondary research. 

• A meta-analysis is a quantitative method of combining the results of primary research. In analyzing the relevant data and statistical findings from experimental trials or observational studies, it can more accurately calculate effective resolutions regarding certain health topics.
• A systematic review is a summary of research that addresses a focused clinical question in a systematic, reproducible manner. In order to provide the single best estimate of effect in clinical decision making, primary research studies are pooled together and then filtered through an inclusion/exclusion process. The relevant data and findings are then compiled and synthesized to arrive at a more accurate conclusion about a specific health topic. Only peer-reviewed publications are used and analyzed in a methodology which may or may not include a meta-analysis.

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WashU Libraries

Bio 4072/5572: regenerative and stem cell biology.

• Finding Primary Literature
• Course Readings
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Biology & PNP Librarian

Examples of Primary Sources and Determining Source Reliability

Examples of primary sources.

• Journal articles describing research in-depth (hypothesis, literature review, methodology, results, discussion)
• Conference Papers
• Technical Reports
• Dissertations
• Interviews with specialists
• Lab notebooks

Determining Source Reliability

Consider these questions when evaluating a source for reliability:

• Authorship : was the source created by an expert in the field? 
• Subject Expertise : does the source cite other reliable and appropriate research?
• Publisher : where was the source published, and is the source reputable? Was the paper peer-reviewed?
• Currency : how up-to-date is the information being provided by the source, and how old is the information that the source is citing?

Library Databases

• PubMed (1946 - ) Covers medical and biomedical sciences. Best place to start searching.
• Scopus Covers medical and biomedical sciences, as well as health science, life science, physical science, social science, and humanities. Good as a back-up to PubMed.

In order to practice searching for primary literature, choose one of the library resources listed above and try to find a primary source on a topic related to this course . Examples of topics include: single-cell RNA sequencing methods, the role of stem cells in limb regeneration.

It's okay if you don't find anything! Searching for any research literature is always a process. Be prepared to share what resource you searched , if you were able to find a useful primary source , and if you found anything interesting or challenging about searching the resource .

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• Last Updated: Aug 29, 2024 2:24 PM
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Primary and Secondary Sources: Foundations of Historical Research

Advertisement for fugitive slave from July 1837 issue of unidentified anti-slavery publication

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library Digital Collections

Contemporary accounts created by people who were present or intimately involved in historical events – known as primary sources – are the bedrock of historical research and writing. In order to complete the research process, historians also rely on secondary sources: well-researched scholarship written after the historical event in question.  

In this lesson plan, students will learn how to distinguish between primary and secondary sources and how to use them for historical research. The central type of primary sources used in this lesson plan are fugitive slave advertisements: short, concise, detailed, and engaging primary sources that convey the history of slavery and freedom seeking in striking terms. Once completed, students will have cultivated valuable research skills with which further historical questions can be investigated and answered.  

This resource is a product of Claiming Freedom in the Revolutionary Era – a partnership of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, the National Park Service, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Foundation, and the Greening Youth Foundation. 

Guiding questions.

Why do historians use both primary and secondary sources to understand the past? 

How are we creators of primary sources for historians 100 years from now? 

Learning Objectives

Differentiate between a primary and secondary source. 

Analyze a primary source by using a graphic organizer. 

Lesson Plan Details

A familiarity with the historical research method sparks curiosity in students and teaches them to be critical clickers as they combat misinformation on the Internet.    

The Historical Method in Three Phases 

Historians are scrupulous researchers and detailed investigators. Traditionally, historians employ what is called the historical method in three general phases.  

First, historians scour physical and digital archives in search of sources like diary entries, artifacts of clothing, first-hand interviews, or fugitive slave advertisements to obtain a solid idea of what the past was really like. These are primary sources: contemporary accounts created by people who were present or intimately involved in historical events.  

In the second phase of the historical method, historians critically read scholarly articles and books to stay up to date on how their peers have interpreted the same subject. Books and articles are two prime examples of secondary sources. They offer valuable context and fresh insight into historical events after those historical events have ended.  

Thirdly and finally, historians place it all in conversation with each other. The sources they discovered in the archive inform and are informed by the secondary source reading they have completed. The result is a more accurate and inclusive telling of the past.   

The Historical Method and the Digital World 

The same analytical habit of critically reading one’s sources can also be used by students to navigate the digital landscape—the ever evolving and full scope of information accessible through media, online, via applications and social media. Indeed, the historical method can be usefully translated by educators to help students become critical clickers . That is, students who are responsible online researchers and who are adept at distinguishing reliable information from misinformation .   

Many archives in the United States are free and publicly accessible, scholarly books are widely published, and an increasing amount of information is openly available online. But, ironically, because nearly anyone in the world can publish information on the Internet, the digital landscape can be a dangerous place to conduct historical research. With misinformation around every corner, how do historians navigate the digital landscape?  

“The very nature of information on the Internet requires a shift in the way we evaluate the credibility and worthiness of the information we encounter.”   ~ Christy Coleman , on Reframing History  

Unlike the materials one finds in the archive, the Internet is an unregulated space. Not every website found online is subject to a vetting process. So, in addition to critiquing the validity of a single document online, deciphering the veracity of online databases and repositories can be extremely tricky. But how studying historical research methods aid educators in helping students to alternate between critical reading and critical clicking ? 

Some sites are clearly trustworthy. The National Archives and Records Administration or the Library of Congress are two great examples. Just as some digitally accessible academic and government organizations are certainly reliable: articles published in the American Historical Review and the Journal of African American History, or content from the National Park Service .   

But other websites and resources trigger more skepticism. And they must be questioned on a case-by-case basis. Some questions can be answered before the researcher even clicks on a link. Upon launching a question in a search engine, historians can begin to gauge the reliability of a website. What is the ending of the URL? Is it a “.com,” “.org,” “.gov,” or a “.edu” site? But sometimes these inquiries are too superficial to separate an unreliable website from a reliable one . In our current digital age, merely confirming the author of an article or the publisher of a website is not enough to combat misinformation.  

Just like with a physical primary source, the researcher must cross-examine the website. When faced with an unknown resource, online researchers (who are also critical clickers) investigate other websites to determine whether a source is reliable. This method is known as “lateral reading.” Similarly, historians of the Underground Railroad search for plantation records or correspondence to see how a fugitive slave advertisement fits into a history of freedom seeking. The practice of cross-examination is honed through the historical research method becomes invaluable in combatting online misinformation.  

Students are sure to find other examples of how the historical research method can aid in combatting online misinformation as they work their way through this lesson plan. Indeed, one of the main goals of this lesson plan is to foster a curiosity equipped with critical clicking.   

D1.5.9-12. Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources. 

D2.His.11.9-12. Critique the usefulness of historical sources for a specific historical inquiry based on their maker, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose. 

D2.His.12.9-12. Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources. 

This lesson is designed to introduce students to primary source analysis. There are no prior concepts that students need to review before implementing this lesson plan.  

However, it may be useful for teachers to review the modeling key for activity three (below) and to read / listen to: “The Case of the Misunderstood Historical Method,” from Reframing History, produced by the American Association of State and Local History. 

Activity 1: Defining primary and secondary sources 

Begin by reading the  Understanding Primary and Secondary Sources  handout independently, in small groups, or with the entire class. This brief document uses engaging language to articulate the key differences between primary and secondary sources. It also poses some common questions that historians ask of primary and secondary sources in order to fully comprehend their value and context. A group discussion is encouraged.  

“Understanding Primary and Secondary Sources” ends with a prompt: If a historian in 2075 wanted to study classrooms in 2023, what objects around us would serve as excellent primary sources in their research? Answers may range, although some common responses might include: desks, chairs, pens, pencils, markers, projectors, lockers, worksheets, textbooks, and school uniforms. Educators then end by reiterating and emphasizing what primary sources add to an individual’s historical research. 

Activity 2: Identifying Primary Sources 

In groups of 3-4, students test their understanding of primary and secondary sources by completing the Matching Primary and Secondary Sources worksheet. In this exercise, they are tasked with correctly labeling 10 sources as either primary or secondary sources. Students will identify the specific information that helped them arrive at their answers. A key with explanations for each of the sources included in the lesson plan materials. After work time, review answers as a class and invite students to share their reasoning. 

Activity 3: Introduction to Primary Source Analysis 

The educator is supplied with two fugitive slave advertisements and is tasked with modeling for the entire class the critical thinking that goes into analyzing a primary source using a graphic organizer. The intellectual life for analyzing the first advertisement and filling in the graphic organizer should be on the educator. The educator should guide students through the second advertisement; however, students should supply the majority of the analysis. An exemplar graphic organizer with key words & phrases to model the thinking is supplied for the educator in the lesson plan materials.  

After the full-class discussion and analysis, students then transition to small groups to analyze different fugitive slave advertisements together. They will be given two to three fugitive slave advertisements observe and analyze, while also putting their thoughts into the graphic organizer. 

Prompt: You are explaining the Underground Railroad and the stories of freedom seekers to a friend. Choose three (3) primary and three (3) secondary sources from the lists below that you think would be most effective at explaining what it was. Write a three-paragraph response that explains your reasoning for choosing your primary and secondary sources. 

Materials & Media

Understanding primary and secondary sources, matching primary and secondary sources, primary source analysis, primary source analysis graphic organizer, related on edsitement, unveiling the past: analyzing primary documents on harry washington's life, lesson 2. “read all about it”: primary source reading in “chronicling america”, ask an neh expert: validating sources, visual records of a changing nation.

• Systematic Review
• Open access
• Published: 30 August 2024

A scoping review of stroke services within the Philippines

• Angela Logan 1 , 2 ,
• Lorraine Faeldon 3 ,
• Bridie Kent 1 , 4 ,
• Aira Ong 1 &
• Jonathan Marsden 1  

BMC Health Services Research volume  24 , Article number:  1006 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

2 Altmetric

Metrics details

Stroke is a leading cause of mortality and disability. In higher-income countries, mortality and disability have been reduced with advances in stroke care and early access to rehabilitation services. However, access to such services and the subsequent impact on stroke outcomes in the Philippines, which is a lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC), is unclear. Understanding gaps in service delivery and underpinning research from acute to chronic stages post-stroke will allow future targeting of resources.

This scoping review aimed to map available literature on stroke services in the Philippines, based on Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage-process.

Summary of review

A targeted strategy was used to search relevant databases (Focused: MEDLINE (ovid), EMBASE (ovid), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO (ebsco); broad-based: Scopus; review-based: Cochrane Library, International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), JBI (formerly Joanna Briggs Institute) as well as grey literature (Open Grey, Google scholar). The searches were conducted between 12/2022-01/2023 and repeated 12/2023. Literature describing adults with stroke in the Philippines and stroke services that aimed to maximize well-being, participation and function were searched. Studies were selected if they included one or more of: (a) patient numbers and stroke characteristics (b) staff numbers, qualifications and role (c) service resources (e.g., access to a rehabilitation unit) (d) cost of services and methods of payment) (e) content of stroke care (f) duration of stroke care/rehabilitation and interventions undertaken (g) outcome measures used in clinical practice.

A total of 70 papers were included. Articles were assessed, data extracted and classified according to structure, process, or outcome related information. Advances in stroke services, including stroke ready hospitals providing early access to acute care such as thrombectomy and thrombolysis and early referral to rehabilitation coupled with rehabilitation guidelines have been developed. Gaps exist in stroke services structure (e.g., low number of neurologists and neuroimaging, lack of stroke protocols and pathways, inequity of stroke care across urban and rural locations), processes (e.g., delayed arrival to hospital, lack of stroke training among health workers, low awareness of stroke among public and non-stroke care workers, inequitable access to rehabilitation both hospital and community) and outcomes (e.g., low government insurance coverage resulting in high out-of-pocket expenses, limited data on caregiver burden, absence of unified national stroke registry to determine prevalence, incidence and burden of stroke). Potential solutions such as increasing stroke knowledge and awareness, use of mobile stroke units, TeleMedicine, TeleRehab, improving access to rehabilitation, upgrading PhilHealth and a unified national long-term stroke registry representing the real situation across urban and rural were identified.

This scoping review describes the existing evidence-base relating to structure, processes and outcomes of stroke services for adults within the Philippines. Developments in stroke services have been identified however, a wide gap exists between the availability of stroke services and the high burden of stroke in the Philippines. Strategies are critical to address the identified gaps as a precursor to improving stroke outcomes and reducing burden. Potential solutions identified within the review will require healthcare government and policymakers to focus on stroke awareness programs, primary and secondary stroke prevention, establishing and monitoring of stroke protocols and pathways, sustainable national stroke registry, and improve access to and availability of rehabilitation both hospital and community.

What is already known?

Stroke services in the Philippines are inequitable, for example, urban versus rural due to the geography of the Philippines, location of acute stroke ready hospitals and stroke rehabilitation units, limited transport options, and low government healthcare insurance coverage resulting in high out-of-pocket costs for stroke survivors and their families.

What are the new findings?

The Philippines have a higher incidence of stroke in younger adults than other LMICs, which impacts the available workforce and the country’s economy. There is a lack of data on community stroke rehabilitation provision, the content and intensity of stroke rehabilitation being delivered and the role and knowledge/skills of those delivering stroke rehabilitation, unmet needs of stroke survivors and caregiver burden and strain,

What do the new findings imply?

A wide gap exists between the availability of stroke services and the high burden of stroke. The impact of this is unclear due to the lack of a compulsory national stroke registry as well as published data on community or home-based stroke services that are not captured/published.

What does this review offer?

This review provides a broad overview of existing evidence-base of stroke services in the Philippines. It provides a catalyst for a) healthcare government to address stroke inequities and burden; b) development of future evidence-based interventions such as community-based rehabilitation; c) task-shifting e.g., training non-neurologists, barangay workers and caregivers; d) use of digital technologies and innovations e.g., stroke TeleRehab, TeleMedicine, mobile stroke units.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

In the Philippines, stroke is the second leading cause of death, with a prevalence of 0·9% equating to 87,402 deaths per annum [ 1 , 2 ]. Approximately 500,000 Filipinos will be affected by stroke, with an estimated US$350 million to $1·2 billion needed to meet the cost of medical care [ 1 ]. As healthcare is largely private, the cost is borne out-of-pocket by patients and their families. This provides a major obstacle for the lower socio-demographic groups in the country.

Research on implementation of locally and regionally adapted stroke-services and cost-effective secondary prevention programs in the Philippines have been cited as priorities [ 3 , 4 ]. Prior to developing, implementing, and evaluating future context-specific acute stroke management services and community-based models of rehabilitation, it was important to map out the available literature on stroke services and characteristics of stroke in the Philippines.

The scoping review followed a predefined protocol, established methodology [ 5 ] and is reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews Guidelines (PRISMA-ScR) [ 6 , 7 ]. Healthcare quality will be described according to the following three aspects: structures, processes, and outcomes following the Donabedian model [ 8 , 9 ].The review is based on Arksey and O'Malley’s five stages framework [ 5 ].

Stage 1: The research question:

What stroke services are available for adults within the Philippines? The objective was to systematically scope the literature to describe the availability, structure, processes, and outcome of stroke services for adults within the Philippines.

Stage 2: Identifying relevant studies:

The following databases were searched. Focused: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO; broad-based: Scopus; review-based: Cochrane Library, Prospero, JBI (formerly Joanna Briggs Institute); Grey literature: Herdin, North Grey, Grey matters, MedRxiv, NIHR health technology assessment, Department of Health Philippines, The Kings Fund, Ethos, Carrot2. Additionally, reference lists of full text included studies were searched.

The targeted search strategy, developed in consultation with an information scientist, was adapted for each database (see supplemental data). Search terms were peer reviewed using the PRESS (Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies) checklist [ 10 ].

The key search concepts from the Population, Concept and Context (PCC) framework were ≥ 18 years with a stroke living in the Philippines ( population ), stroke services aiming to maximize well-being, participation and function following a stroke ( concept ) and stroke services from acute to chronic including those involving healthcare professionals, non-healthcare related personnel or family or friends ( context ). Search tools such as medical subject headings (MESH) and truncation to narrow or expand searches were used. Single and combined search terms were included (see supplemental data). The search was initially conducted over two weeks in December 2022 and re-run in December 2023.

Studies were selected if they described stroke care in the Philippines in terms of one or more of the following: (a) patient numbers and stroke characteristics (b) staff numbers, qualifications and role (c) service resources (e.g., number of beds/access to a rehabilitation unit, equipment used) (d) cost of services and methods of payment (UHC, Insurance, private) (e) content of stroke care (f) duration of stroke care (hours of personnel contact e.g., Therapy hours per day); interventions undertaken (g) outcome measures used in clinical practice.

Additional criteria:

Context: all environments (home, hospital, outpatients, clinic, academic institute).

Date limits: published between 2002 onwards. This is based on the Philippines Community Rehabilitation Guidelines published in 2009 that would suggest that papers earlier than 2002 may not reflect current practice [ 11 ].

Qualitative and quantitative studies including grey literature.

Language: reported in English or Filipino only.

Publication status: no limit because the level of rigor was not assessed.

Type of study: no limit which included conference abstracts, as the level of rigor was not assessed.

Studies were excluded if they were in non-stroke populations or the full text article could not be obtained. Conference abstracts were excluded if there were insufficient data about methods and results.

Searches of databases were performed by one researcher (JM) and searches of grey literature were performed by one researcher (AO). All retrieved articles were uploaded into Endnote X9 software™, and duplicates identified and removed before transferring them to Rayyan [ 12 ] for screening.

Stage 3: study selection

The title and abstract were selected using eligibility criteria. Two pairs of researchers independently screened abstracts and titles;(Databases: JM and AL and grey literature by AO and LF). Where a discrepancy existed for title and abstract screening, the study was automatically included for full text review and discussed among reviewers.

Two reviewers (JM and AL) undertook full-text screening of the selected studies. Discrepancies were resolved through consensus discussions without the need for a third reviewer. There were no discrepancies that required a third reviewer. Reason for exclusion were documented according to pre-determined eligibility criteria. References of included full text articles were screened by each reviewer independently and identified articles were subjected to the same screening process as per the PRISMA-ScR checklist (Fig.  1 ).

PRISMA-ScR flow diagram

Stage 4: Charting the data

Two reviewers independently extracted the data using a piloted customized and standardized data extraction form including (1) Structure: financial (e.g., costs, insurance, government funding), resources (structure and number of stroke facilities, staff (number, profession/specialism, qualifications etc.), stroke characteristics (2) Process: duration of care, content of stroke care within acute, secondary care, community, outcome measures used; (3) Outcome: survival, function, patient satisfaction, cost (admission and interventions), and (4) year of publication, geographical location (including if Philippines only or multiple international locations) and type of evidence (e.g., policy, review, observational, experimental, clinical guidelines). Critical appraisal of included studies was not undertaken because the purpose of the review was to map available evidence on stroke services available within the Philippines.

Stage 5: Collating, summarising and reporting the results

The search identified 351 records from databases and registers. A total of 70 records are included and reasons for non-inclusion are summarized in Fig.  1 .

Study descriptors

The characteristics of included studies are shown in Supplementary Material Table 1. Of the 70 included studies, 36 were observational with most being based on a retrospective review of case notes ( n  = 31), two were audits, eight were surveys or questionnaires, four were consensus opinion and/or guideline development, three were randomized controlled trial (RCT) or feasibility RCT, 1 was a systematic review, two were policy and guidelines, 11 were narrative reviews or opinion pieces, two were case series or reports and one was an experimental study.

Of the 70 studies, 32 (45.7%) were based in a single tertiary hospital site. There were only three papers based in the community (4.3%). Papers that were opinion pieces or reviews were classified as having a national focus. Of the 22 papers classified as having a national focus, 10 (45.5%) were narrative reviews/ opinion pieces (Table 1 ).

The primary focus of the research studies (excluding the 11 narrative reviews and 2 policy documents) were classified as describing structure ( n  = 8, 14%); process ( n  = 21,36.8%) or outcomes ( n  = 29, 49.2%). The structure of acute care was described in seven studies out of eight studies ( n  = 7/8 87.5%) whilst neurosurgery structures were described in one out of eight studies (12.5%). Acute care processes were described in 11 out of 21 studies ( n  = 11/21 52.3%) whilst rehabilitation processes were described in six out of 21 studies (28.6%), with three out of 21 studies primarily describing outcome measurement (14.3%). The primary focus of the outcomes were stroke characteristics (25 out of 28 papers, 89.2%) in terms of number of stroke (prevalence), mortality or severity of stroke. Measures of stroke quality of life were not reported. Healthcare professional knowledge was described in two studies ( n  = 2/28 7.1%) whilst risk factors for stroke were described in one study ( n  = 1/28, 3.6%). Carer burden was described in one study ( n  = 1/28, 3.6%).

A summary of the findings is presented in Table 2 .

This scoping review describes the available literature on stroke services within the Philippines across the lifespan of an adult (> 18 years) with a stroke. The review has identified gaps in information about structures, processes and outcomes as well as deficits in provision of stroke services and processes as recommended by WHO. These included a low number of specialist clinicians including neurologists, neuro-radiographers and neurosurgeons. The high prevalence of stroke suggests attention and resources need to focus on primary and secondary prevention. Awareness of stroke is low, especially in terms of what a stroke is, the signs/symptoms and how to minimize risk of stroke [ 25 ]. Barriers exist, such as lack of healthcare resources, maldistribution of health facilities, inadequate training on stroke treatment among health care workers, poor stroke awareness, insufficient government support and limited health insurance coverage [ 22 ].

The scoping review also highlighted areas where further work is needed, for example, descriptions and research into the frequency, intensity, and content of rehabilitation services especially in the community setting and the outcome measures used to monitor recovery and impairment. PARM published stroke rehabilitation clinical practice guidelines in 2012, which incorporated an innovative approach to contextualize Western clinical practice guidelines for stroke care to the Philippines [ 42 ]. Unfortunately, availability and equitable access to evidence-based rehabilitation for people with stroke in the Philippines pose significant challenges because of multiple factors impacting the country (e.g., geographical, social, personal, environmental, educational, economic, workforce) [ 25 , 40 , 43 ].

The number of stroke survivors with disability has not been reported previously, thus, the extent and burden of stroke from acute to chronic is unknown. The recent introduction of a national stroke registry across public and private facilities may provide some of this data [ 82 ]. The project started in 2021 and captures data on people hospitalized for transient ischemic attack or stroke in the Philippines. National stroke registries have been identified as a pragmatic solution to reduce the global burden of stroke [ 83 ] through surveillance of incidence, prevalence, and outcomes (e.g., death, disability) of, and quality of care for, stroke, and prevalence of risk factors. For the Philippine government to know the full impact and burden of stroke nationally, identify areas for improvement and make meaningful changes for the benefit of Filipinos, the registry would need to be compulsory for all public and private facilities and include out of hospital data. This will require information technology, trained workforces for data capture, monitoring and sharing, as well as governance and funding [ 83 ].

This scoping review has generated a better understanding of the published evidence focusing on availability of stroke services in the Philippines, as well as the existing gaps through the lens of Donabedian’s Structure , Process and Outcome framework. The findings have helped to inform a wider investigation of current stroke service utilization conducted using survey and interview methods with stroke survivors, carers and key stakeholders in the Philippines, and drive forward local, regional and national policy and service changes.

Conclusions

This scoping review describes the existing evidence-based relating to structure, processes and outcomes of stroke services for adults within the Philippines. The review revealed limited information in certain areas, such as the impact of stroke on functional ability, participation in everyday life, and quality of life; the content and intensity of rehabilitation both in the hospital or community setting; and the outcome measures used to evaluate clinical practice. Developments in stroke services have been identified however, a wide gap exists between the availability of stroke services and the high burden of stroke in the Philippines. Strategies are critical to address the identified gaps as a precursor to improving stroke outcomes and reducing burden. Potential solutions identified within the review will require a comprehensive approach from healthcare policymakers to focus on stroke awareness programs, primary and secondary prevention, establishing and monitoring of stroke protocols and pathways, implementation of a compulsory national stroke registry, use of TeleRehab, TeleMedicine and mobile stroke units and improve access to and availability of both hospital- and community-based stroke rehabilitation. Furthermore, changes in PhilHealth coverage and universal credit to minimize catastrophic out-of-pocket costs.

Limitations

Although a comprehensive search was undertaken, data were taken from a limited number of located published studies on stroke in the Philippines. This, together with data from databases and grey literature, may not reflect the current state of stroke services in the country.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Data availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the TULAY collaborators: Dr Roy Francis Navea, Dr Myrna Estrada, Dr Elda Grace Anota, Dr Maria Mercedes Barba, Dr June Ann De Vera, Dr Maria Elena Tan, Dr Sarah Buckingham and Professor Fiona Jones. We are grateful to Lance de Jesus and Dr Annah Teves, Research Assistants on the TULAY project, for their contribution to some of the data extraction.

This research was funded by the NIHR Global Health Policy and Systems Research Programme (Award ID: NIHR150244) in association with UK aid from the UK Government to support global health research. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care.

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Conceptualisation, methodology and setting search terms, AL, LF, AO, JM, BK. Searches and screening, AL, JM, LF, AO. Data extraction, AL, LF, AO, JM, LdJ, AT. Original draft preparation, AL, JM. All authors provided substantive intellectual and editorial revisions and approved the final manuscript.

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Logan, A., Faeldon, L., Kent, B. et al. A scoping review of stroke services within the Philippines. BMC Health Serv Res 24 , 1006 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11334-z

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