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PHIL 250: Medical Ethics (Stempesy)

Scholarly Sources Vs. Popular Sources

Comparing Article Types

Primary/Research articles are scholarly sources that provide valuable first-hand information about research being conducted in a given discipline. These articles directly present the experiments/studies and subsequent results currently being conducted in the field, as presented by the scholars who conducted these studies. 

Characteristics: 

  • Has all the characteristics of a scholarly/peer-reviewed journal; in addition -- 
  • Look for sections such as methodology, results/findings, etc. that indicate that primary research is being reported 

Uses: 

  • Provides main source of information for the basis of your paper
  • Research methods used can be observational, experimental, or descriptive
  • Provides structure to follow in writing your paper: Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results (Qualitative Description of of Findings), Discussion (why findings are significant), Conclusion (summary)

Example: 

Jiang, W., Zhang, Y., Xiao, L., Van Cleemput, J., Ji, S., Bai, G. & Zhang, X. (2005). Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects. Journal of Clinical Investigation 115(11), 3104-3116.

Link to Article below.

Secondary/Review articles are a type of scholarly/academic, or peer-reviewed, article. Scholarly articles are articles written by experts, for experts, and vetted by experts via a rigorous review progress (known as peer review) prior to their publication. For most research assignments, you will want to rely on scholarly sources for your information. However, there are different kinds of scholarly articles. 

See the chart above for a comparison of the differences between a non-scholarly and a scholarly article:

Secondary/Review articles are scholarly sources that provide valuable information about research being done in the field. However, they are a step removed in that the authors of Secondary/Review articles are reporting on research that has been conducted by other scholars, rather than sharing the results of their own research. 

Characteristics: 

  • Lacking methodology, results, etc. sections that indicate that the author(s) are reporting the results of their own research
  • Metadata articles (articles that collect, compile and present data from many studies into one article) are secondary articles
  • Clinical Trials (ex. testing pharmaceuticals) are usually secondary articles

Uses: 

  • Provide an depth overview of major literature published on a topic
  • Provide citations to primary/research articles on a topic - which you can then find in full text using library tools

Example:

Ramikie, T.S. & Patel, S. (2012). Review: Endocannabinoid signaling in the amygdala: Anatomy, synaptic signaling, behavior, and adaptations to stress. Neuroscience 204, 38-52. 

Try Searching the Library Catalog for this article based on the citation information.

Non-scholarly articles are often called "popular" articles because they are designed for popular consumption by the general population (as opposed to scholarly articles which are typically written by experts for an audience of experts). 

Characteristics: 

  • Not peer reviewed
  • Provide description of a topic in layman's language

See the chart above for a comparison of the differences between a non-scholarly and a scholarly article.

Uses: 

  • Provides keywords to conduct searches for scholarly articles
  • May provide partial citation to a scholarly article or to a researcher by name that you can then search to find the primary article

Example:  

Kleiner, Kurt. “Marijuana Might Cause New Cell Growth in the Brain.” New Scientist, October 13, 2005.