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Primary research

What is secondary literature?

 

What is primary research?
How do I find primary research?
What is secondary literature?

 

Secondary literature presents an overview of a topic by summarizing the research and data from many different sources. It is not original research, but an excellent source of background information. Examples of secondary literature includes books, review articles, and encyclopedias.

Some journals consist entirely of secondary literature.

Annual review of genetics
Annual review of medicine
Biological reviews

Popular science journals are also sources of secondary literature. They are written for a general audience and are a good starting point for researching a topic.

Discover
Science news
Scientific American

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