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Community & Global Health

Primary Sources

In the sciences, a primary source describes original research, while a secondary source analyzes or comments on a primary source or sources.  For example, a research article is primary literature because it describes an original experiment and its results, while a review article is secondary literature because it collates multiple research articles to describe the current state of the field.

Examples of primary sources: 

  • Research articles
  • Theses and dissertations
  • Conference proceedings
  • Reports
  • Patents 
  • Unrefined data sets 

Recommended Databases

Health Data