2. What’s that?
Let’s start with a dictionary definition...
The information source that is derived directly from fully
described (or referenced) formal observation, procedures
or experiments performed with valid, scientifically
accepted methods. In its strongest form, this material is
usually (but not only) a paper in a refereed scientific
publication.
primary source. (2001). In Pharmaceutical Medicine Dictionary. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.lakeheadu.ca/login?url=http://www.credoreference.com/entry/pmd/
primary_source
27. Note that you can
also limit to a
specific date range
28. Note the
different
options. To
find primary
research, click
on Article
29. This is the end of our tutorial on Primary Research in Cell
Biology
Please check out our other tutorials:
Where to Start your Search
Secondary Resources
Smart Searching
MeSH (Medical Subject Headings)
Browsing Journals
Acknowledging your Sources
30. If you have any questions, please
Visit the Research Help Desk
Phone (807) 343-8302
Chat online with us!
Email: researchhelp@lakeheadu.ca
Editor's Notes
Welcome to our short tutorial on Primary Resources in Cell Biology
First off, what are primary resources? Let’s start with a dictionary definition from Pharmaceutical Medicine Dictionary
In summary, a primary research article is scholarly, academic and peer reviewed.
How can you find primary research articles?
Primary research articles contain the following components:
The title of the article lets you know what the article is about.
Credentials and authority are important because they tell you who wrote the article and where the author/researcher comes from.
An abstract is a summary of the article – this is an easy and quick way to find out if the article is research-based and relevant to your topic.
The following are additional components of a research article. The introduction sets out the purpose of the article.
Materials and Methods shows how the research was conducted. This is important because if someone wishes to replicate this research, they can then follow the experiments listed in the article
Tables, graphs and images will show the raw data and the results of the research
The results are where you will see the original data and the discussion is where the author will try and prove that the research is valid.
The conclusions will sum up the article and let you know what the final results of the research was.
Every research article will include references – this can be very helpful for you because you can find additional sources on your topic.
Let’s look at each of these databases to see how you can find primary literature
Biological Abstracts is a scholarly life sciences database. In order to ensure that you find research articles or primary research make sure that you click off the article box.
If you go into the record of an individual article, you will see that it includes an abstract
And in some cases, the methods and equipment used. This can help you identify research articles.
PubMed is one of the leading databases in life sciences – in order to find research articles, you will need to type in a search in the search box and click on search
Once you get some results, you can limit your search by clicking on more under Article types on the left-hand side of the page
A new window will open and you can scroll down until you see Journal Article. Click on that and then click on the show button
ScienceDirect is a collection of thousands of scholarly, academic research journals in the sciences. To search it, please click on the green search tab at the top of the screen.
Then click on the Journals tab – you can enter your search terms and under limit by document type, click on article for primary research articles and click on search
Note that in example #2, it actually tells you that it is an original research article.
Web of Science is a scholarly multidisciplinary database which covers arts and humanities, social sciences and sciences. To start your search type in your search terms and unclick the boxes next to arts and humanities and social sciences
Note that you can limit your results by picking a date range – for example the last 5 years and then click on the search button
To limit your search to research articles, click on article