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Nursing / RN

Here you will find library and internet resources for research on topics and issues in Nursing

Primary and Secondary Sources

Information sources are often referred to as "primary" and "secondary" sources.  But what does that mean?

A primary source is any source of information that provides immediate, first-hand information about a topic, an event, etc. that is written or created by the people or person who experienced it.  A secondary source interprets or analyzes information from primary sources.  However, there are some differences between academic disciplines in what is considered to be primary source material.  The Lafayette College Library describes those differences in this way:

  • In the humanities, a primary source could be defined as something that was created either during the time period being studied or afterward by individuals reflecting on their involvement in the events of that time.
  • In the social sciences, the definition of a primary source would be expanded to include numerical data that has been gathered to analyze relationships between people, events, and their environment.
  • In the natural sciences, a primary source could be defined as a report of original findings or ideas. These sources often appear in the form of research articles with sections on methods and results.

So for a paper in a field like psychology, environmental science, or biology, a peer-reviewed journal article by a scientist describing an experiment he conducted and its results would be considered primary source material. 

For a history paper, primary sources would include things such as census reports, letters, and speeches by individuals who lived during a certain period.  For a paper in a literature course, primary sources might include a review of a work that was published when it was first printed, or a letter from the author to another person discussing his/her ideas that might be relevant to the themes of the work.

Finding Primary Sources

The following tutorials may help you identify primary sources:

Additional Information on Primary Sources:

Levels of Confidence - the Hierarchy of Scientific Evidence

In any scientific field, it's important to provide evidence to support your statements.  But not all evidence is equally reliable. Generally scientific research will involve carefully designed studies, with randomized controlled trials being one of the strongest types of research - while case reports and animal trials are considered much less strong (although they are still scientific).  Click on the link below to find out more.

 

Diagram of a pyramid showing different levels of evidence in order of reliability, from the weakest at the bottom to the strongest at the top. A circle to the right contains a list of items that is labeled "not scientific evidence". A full description of the hierarchy is available on the linked page.

https://thelogicofscience.com/2016/01/12/the-hierarchy-of-evidence-is-the-studys-design-robust/

Narrowing and Focusing Topics

BROAD TOPICS are generally phrases that describe a big idea or thing:

  • Gun control
  • Immigration
  • Global warming
  • Healthcare

RESTRICTED TOPICS may only be one part of the broad topic or they may link two different ideas.  In the examples below, “water pollution” is a particular type of pollution; “Nutrition and pregnancy” links the broad topic of nutrition with pregnancy to focus it.

NARROWED TOPICS give your research more focus.  In the examples below, “Pollution in San Francisco Bay” is still looking at “water pollution” – but only water pollution in a particular location.  “Commercial salmon fishing” is looking at the salmon fishing industry, rather than at sport fishing.

FOCUSED RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
As you do your research, you need to ask very specific, focused questions to find out the information for your paper.

  • You will usually need to ask very specific, focused questions to find out the information for your paper.
  • Your questions should generally ask for facts, not opinions, (if your questions start with "Should", you're asking for an opinion!)
  • Remember:  Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?

Who     =   People
What    =   Facts; causes and effects
When   =   Time
Where  =   Place(s) or geographical information
Why     =   Reasons
How     =   Methods (How many, How much = Statistics, amounts)

How to broaden, restrict, and focus research questions.

Broad Topic

Restricted Topic

Narrowed Topic

Focused Research Question #1

Focused Research Question #2
Pollution water pollution pollution in San Francisco Bay What is the most common pollutant in the bay? Where does the pollution come from?
Fishing salmon fishing commercial salmon fishing When can fisherman legally catch wild salmon? Why don't people only eat farm raised salmon?
Nutrition nutrition and pregnancy vegetarian diets and pregnancy How much protein does a pregnant woman need to eat daily? What foods will provide the most protein in a vegetarian diet?