BIOL 112: General Biology II Laboratory

In the Sciences, primary sources are documents that provide full description of the original research. For example, a primary source would be a journal article where scientists describe their research on rhizosphere bacteria. A secondary source would be an article commenting on or analyzing the scientists' research on rhizosphere bacteria.

Examples:

Empirical scholarly works such as research articles, conference proceedings, clinical reports, dissertations.

Taken from http://libraries.ucsd.edu/bmcl/dturnbow/bimm121-library-tutorial/player.html

Anatomy of a Journal Article

• Abstract: Provides a summary of the article
• Introduction: Includes background information and a description of the author's purpose
• Materials & Methods: Details about how the study was performed with enough detail so that others could repeat the study
• Results: Includes new observations, data and findings, figures
• Discussion: A description of what the findings mean and their implications; address potential criticisms