BIOL 115: Exploring Biology - Biology Seminar With Lab (HC) Fall 2022

Newspapers, magazines, and journals are all types of periodicals, named as such because they are all published...periodically (once a week, quarterly, etc.). Each issue contains multiple articles, also known as literature. See below for ways to distinguish between different types of literature.

*To tell for certain if an article is peer-reviewed, Google the journal's website. The About section, Author Guidelines, or information on the editorial process will typically tell you if articles within that journal are peer-reviewed.

Primary literature

• A primary research article in the sciences reports the findings of original research done by the authors of the article. 
• Primary research articles are usually published in peer-reviewed journals.
• A primary research article poses a research question or states a hypothesis.
• To determine whether or not you've found a primary research article, scan the article (or even just the abstract). Look for an introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections. 

Review literature

• Review articles in the sciences summarize previously reported findings rather than present new findings, often pulling together the findings of multiple primary research articles. In doing so, review literature often gives a broader view of the current state of understanding in a given topic area.