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Scholarly sources are written by academics and other experts and contribute to knowledge in a particular field by sharing new research findings, theories, analyses, insights, news, or summaries of current knowledge.

• They can be primary or secondary research. 
• There is a difference between peer-reviewed and scholarly articles. 
• Peer review refers to the process where experts in a particular field evaluate the quality, validity, and originality of a piece of work before publication. 

Primary Literature

• Original research and/or new scientific discoveries
• Immediate results of research activities
• Often includes analysis of data collected in the field or laboratory

Examples: 

• Original research published as articles in peer-reviewed journals
• Dissertations
• Technical reports
• Conference proceedings

Secondary Literature

• Summarizes and synthesizes primary literature
• Usually broader and less current than primary literature

Examples: 

• Literature review articles
• Books

Since most information sources in the secondary literature contain extensive bibliographies, they can be useful for finding more information on a topic. 

Tertiary Literature

• Summaries or condensed versions of material
• Usually with references to primary or secondary sources
• Good place to look up facts or get a general overview of a subject

Examples: 

• Textbooks
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias 
• Handbooks

Anatomy of a Research Article

Research articles in the sciences and social sciences tend to be concise reports of results from quantitative and/or qualitative analysis. Focus on the discussion of results, methods, and limitations.

Article information: This includes the title of the article and the authors. You can usually find information about the publisher here too, like the journal name, volume, and issue number. 

Abstract: A brief summary of the article that helps readers determine if its relevant to their interests. It sometimes follows the overall structure of the article with 1-2 sentences for the Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. 

Introduction or literature review: Establishes the background of the topic, definitions of terms, and why the topic is important to study. Includes research questions or hypotheses, and references to previous studies

Methods: Explains how the study was conducted so other researchers can replicate it. Includes population or sample size, tests and measures used to gather and analyze the data. 

Results: The outcome of the study, usually just raw data. Results may be represented in figures or text, and include tables, charts, and graphs, and summary. There is little to no interpretation of what the data means or says about the topic

Discussion: Summarizes the results in more detail and may compare results to previous studies. Talks about the implications of the study, what should come next, and what future research might investigate based on the results. A conclusion may address gaps or limitations in the methods. 

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