PSYCH 212: Educational Psychology

A primary research article in the sciences is an article that describes an original  experiment that leads to the
creation of new knowledge in a specific field. A primary research article should contain the following key elements.:

• Background research that lead to this experiment- Sometimes this is called literature review

• Methodology or Methods section- an explanation for the experiment conducted (what was done)

• Results section- the results of the experiment (fancy diagrams, graphs, charts, etc.)

• Conclusions section- the conclusions reached as a result of this experiment

Secondary Sources build on the primary sources with more extensive and in-depth analysis. They summarize, evaluate, and analytically interpret primary material, often by offering a personal perspective. While these are useful to check what other experts in the field have to say, they are not evidence. It is one step removed from the original source.