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Information Literacy: Research Materials

Types of Material

Information in this section is provided by Primary, Secondary & Tertiary Sources by Teaching & Learning, Ohio State University Libraries

Primary Sources:  Because it is in its original form, the information in primary sources has reached us from its creators without going through any filter. We get it firsthand. Here are some examples that are often used as primary sources:

  • Advertisements
  • Any literary work, including novels, plays, and poems
  • Artifacts such as tools, clothing, or other objects
  • Artworks
  • Blog entries that are autobiographical
  • Breaking news
  • Buildings
  • Correspondence, including email
  • Data
  • Diaries
  • Eyewitness accounts, including photographs and recorded interviews
  • Journal articles that report research for the first time (at least the parts about the new research, plus their data)
  • Music and dance performances
  • Original documents such as tax returns, marriage licenses, and transcripts of trials
  • Records of organizations and government agencies
  • Scholarly blogs that provide data or are highly theoretical, even though they contain no autobiography
  • Websites, although many are secondary

Secondary Source: These sources are translated, repackaged, restated, analyzed, or interpreted original information that is a primary source. Thus, the information comes to us secondhand, or through at least one filter. Here are some examples that are often used as secondary sources:

  • All nonfiction books and magazine articles except autobiography
  • An article or website  that synthesizes expert opinion and several eyewitness accounts for a new understanding of an event
  • An article or website that critiques a novel, play, painting, or piece of music
  • The literature review portion of a journal article

Tertiary sources are usually not acceptable as cited sources in college research projects because they are so far from firsthand information. 

Tertiary sources are usually publications that you are not intended to read from cover to cover but to dip in and out of for the information you need. You can think of them as a good place for background information. These sources further repackage the original information because they index, condense, or summarize the original. 

 

  • Almanacs
  • Bibliographies
  • Dictionaries
  • Encyclopedias, including Wikipedia
  • Guide books
  • Most textbooks
  • Survey articles
  • Timelines

What to use in your research?

The resources you need for your academic research can vary widely depending on your assignment, chosen topic, knowledge on the subject, and window of time. 

Research requires a plan, but is often not linear, meaning you may need to adjust and redefine your plan throughout the research process.This page describes some commonly used research materials.

Asking for assistance at the Reference Desk on the main floor of the library can help you through any step of the research process.  Also, feel free to email, call, or use LibChat-- a friendly librarian is always happy to help.

Material Formats

Journal articles are the standard for most undergraduate and graduate research. 

These articles are written by researchers and practitioners with authority in the papers.

Usually the articles are peer reviewed. Peer review is the process an article goes through before being published. Other experts and researchers will evaluate an article to determine its validity/credibility before the article is published in a scholarly journal. Peer reviewed sources may also be called scholarly/refereed. The intended audience is usually other researchers, experts, or students. These articles will include references in the form of in-text citations and/or a bibliography or works cited list.

 

Examples:

                  

The books and e-books used for undergraduate and graduate research are not the fiction novels that most people think of when talking about books. (The big exception being the study of literature). For most research, one will use textbooks or non-fiction books These may include but are not limited to:

  • Reference Books: encyclopedias, handbooks, guides

  • Academic/Scholarly Books: These books have many of the same characteristics as academic/scholarly articles including being written by an authority in their field, having been peer-reviewed, and including references/citations. These books may also contain a collection of essays/articles on a selected topic.

  • Popular Non-Fiction: These books have many of the same characteristics of magazines or newspapers.  They are written by journalists or non-experts outside of their field about topics that would interest the general public.  They may include references, but are not peer-reviewed.

Websites can include anything from free databases of information, to government sites, to news or non-profit organization sites.

Websites need to be one of the most highly vetted resources as they can range from academic, to popular, to professional.  They can provide a great wealth of information, however, tend to be one of the sources that may also contain the greatest amount of wrong or misleading information. Proceed with caution.

These feature current trends, news, or research in a specific field. They will have some research articles as well as statistics and professional forecasts. They're usually written by experts but can also feature journalists. The audience is usually experts or those working within the specific field.

 

Examples:

                  

Popular articles in magazines and newspapers are often useful when writing about current events or by those studying communications, marketing, and journalism.  These have features meant to entertain, inform, or persuade and do not include in-depth analysis or references. Articles are usually short and written by journalists who are not experts. They use common language and are intended for anyone, not those in a research or scholarly field.

 

Examples: