Books and non-expert reviews are important to research. For those who are not experts in the field, these resources will provide understanding of the fundamental theories, principals, terms, and players. Many of these resources are written by experts in the field but presented for the average, interested reader (some books are advanced). Keep an eye out for keywords to search for more in-depth resources and the citations or further suggested reading information, usually found at the end of the chapter/article/book.
These sources are more "popular" in nature in that they are written with a general audience in mind, not for other experts in the field. These types of resources are the ones you'd find at your local library and/or bookstore.
 |
 |
 |
With review articles, the author(s) summarize the literature (study/research) articles that have been written within a topic or discipline. This review is usually evaluative. These articles help researchers keep up to date on a given topic or discipline. These articles do not present original research. Review articles are scholarly. For an example, check out this article.
A review article will have a lot of citations at then end. It will not have the parts of a primary paper (see below for parts of a primary paper if you are unsure of what they are). Some review papers may contain graphics.
A study article, also referred to as a primary paper or an original research article, is where author(s) present their original research. A study article has specific components. Authors do cite other work but make original contributions to their field. For an example, check out this article.
Primary research papers use a standard method of communicating research results. This increases efficiency in presenting findings. You may be familiar with this method already in the form of lab reports. Traditionally, primary research will have the following categories:
1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Materials and Methods (of the study)
4. Results
5. Conclusion or Discussion
6. References
If you find an article and you do not see these categories you likely do not have a primary research paper.
