Psychology

• In Psychology, primary sources refer to original research articles, usually referred to as empirical studies. These articles present the results of research, by the researchers who conducted it. This research usually appears in peer-reviewed journals.
• Characteristics of primary sources in psychology:
  • They are written accounts of original or empirical research, study, or experimentation conducted by the author(s) of the resource.
  • They are written accounts of primary research and are typically published in scholarly, peer-reviewed, journals, and are often published by professional associations or academic institutions.
  • They are often research articles and generally contain standard components, and follow a specific format or pattern.
    • Typically they include an abstract, a methods section, discussion, a conclusion and a bibliography.
  • They can be found by looking for clues within the article.
    • Read the abstract of an article and look for statements like:
      • The research we conducted shows . . .
      • The aim of our study was . . .
      • We looked at two groups of children . . .
      • Our research concluded that . . .
• Secondary sources usually provide some level of analysis, description, or interpretation of original research articles. They may include books, textbooks, and encyclopedias, but may also include articles such as literature reviews. 

Content adapted from Psychology Resources: Primary Sources from the Davis Library at the University of Rio Grande.