Scientific literature consists of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.
Source: Baril, K. (2020, September 25). Primary, secondary, and tertiary literature. Ohio Northern University Heterick Library. https://library.onu.edu/c.php?g=357773&p=2720217
Research articles in scientific journals present the original data and findings of the researchers involved in the experiment or study (primary source). They usually include sections for Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD format) to match the scientific method.
Review articles in scientific journals provide an overview of the field or the topic by summarizing and synthesizing the data and findings from many experiments or studies (secondary source).
Systematic review articles in scientific journals use explicit and reproducible methods to systematically search, critically appraise, and synthesize multiple studies on a specific topic (secondary source). They can look like research articles since they have a methods section but are actually reviews articles. These articles will mention as the methodology the databases and keywords searched and may have a PRISMA flow diagram with screening criteria.
Peer-reviewed (or refereed) journals contain articles written by experts that are reviewed by other experts in the field for quality before publication. All peer-reviewed journals are scholarly but not all scholarly journals are peer-reviewed.
OneSearch (search by article title) and Ulrichsweb (search by journal title) may be used to help determine peer-reviewed status.
Open access articles are freely available to everyone and do not require a (library) subscription to the journal to access them.
The design of this page was partly adapted from Research: By Course, Subject, or Topic, by University of Arizona Libraries, © 2020 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of The University of Arizona, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.