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Biology: Articles: Primary scientific
literature
Primary scientific literature
has several characteristics.
 | Papers describe original
research and are, in general, written in enough detail that someone could
repeat the experiments to verify the results.
 | They often have a
"Materials and Methods" section |
| Authors may use
"We" or "I" to describe what was done |
| They usually are very
specific: mentioning particular places, organisms, etc. |
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| Papers usually start with an
introduction: an overview of the subject to set the stage for the
research. A very explicit description of what was done follows: the
materials and methods used and/or the exact location and sampling
procedures. The discussion section will attempt to place the work in a
larger theoretical context and may suggest further research to verify and
extend the conclusions. |
| Papers may be difficult to
read if the general subject isn't well understood: reading secondary works
such as books, chapters or review articles first may help to place the
research in context. |
Where to find primary articles:
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Databases by Subject: Environmental Studies
- Search databases
that include scholarly and peer-reviewed journals. In
your search terms, include words that appear in primary research articles:
study, examine, methods, methodology,
research design,
discussion, survey, data, results. |
| Theses
& dissertations: A thesis or dissertation
will usually report the results of original, ground-breaking research. To locate CSUF Biology theses in the
Library Catalog, search
by KEYWORD: CSUF thesis biology. |
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Secondary sources: Secondary sources, review
articles, books, etc., will usually refer to the primary literature in the
bibliography. You can sometimes tell by the referral context whether
the article will be primary, e.g., "In their experiments on this
specific species in that specific place, Smith and Jones show..." |
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Peer-reviewed journals: Some journals publish mainly
primary literature. This can be useful if you are browsing to find a
topic. Look through current copies of journals in the "Selected
Current Science Journals" area (2d floor, Pollak Library, North Wing,
northwest corner). For electronic resources, go to
Databases by Subject: Environmental Studies. |
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