Primary Secondary

Primary Secondary

PRIMARY SECONDARY

A report written by researchers providing the first full description of their own work. Important: the authors participated in the research. / Not the first publication of the research or original work.
Review articles review and summarize many primary papers that have been published over the years. The author did not necessarily do any of the research.
The language is generally very technical. The tone of the work is serious and focused on the experiment. / The language is at the level of the general public. The tone of the work can be lighter and written to entertain.
Has been peer reviewed. (A group of specialists in the field have reviewed the article for validity) / Not peer reviewed.
Intended for publication in some kind of publicly assessable archive (scientific journal).
Majority are printed in black and white. Graphs and charts are labeled and referred to specifically within the article. / Publications will often contain much advertising material.
Color photographs may accompany these articles.
Authors receive no financial compensation for contributing to these journals. Usually, they have to pay the journal to publish their article. / Authors or contributors are often paid for their contributions
Report follows a structured format, often containing all or some of the following sections:
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Literature Cited Section / Article is intended to educate and/or entertain the audience. There may or may not be a discernible format with specific subheadings. Rather, the article may be written in a literary form with an introduction, body, and conclusion.
Examples of Scientific Publications:
Journal of Cell Biology
Journal of Mammalogy
Conservation Biology
Soil Biology and Biochemistry
Molecular Biology / Examples of Secondary Publications:
Annual Review of Cell Biology
Biological Reviews
Scientific American
National Geographic
Life
  1. Pictures

a)Look at the charts and figures. From this can you tell what the study is about?

b) What does each figure show?

2. Abstract / introduction

  1. What were the objectives in performing the study?
  1. What were the research questions being asked?

3. Measurement and Observation

  1. Give a brief statement of what they did-
  1. What was measured?

4. Results

a. How are the data presented?

5. Conclusions

a. What were the main conclusions?

b. Is the study significant?

c. Is the study relevant to other populations?

d. What questions remain unresolved?

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