Scientific literature is a critical part of doing research as well as writing reports. However, knowing how to differentiate between primary, secondary, and tertiary literature is very important to understand what the article should have included and also what role the author played in the experiments.
Primary literature displays original ideas, results, or information and all observations made are done so by the author of the paper. Primary literature can come in various forms such as field datasets, journal articles, experiments, etc. One example of a primary source is ‘Seedling survival and seed size: a synthesis of the literature’ (2004), published in the Journal of Ecology. A trick to decipher if a journal article is a primary source is to make sure that there is a materials/methods section as well as results.
Secondary literature is either discussing, interpreting, or analysing results that were presented in primary literature. This type of literature contributes new ideas, however, there are no new results or experiments completed by the author. This can come in the form of an article, a textbook, an essay, etc. One example of secondary literature is the Arthur Tansley paper “On Competition Between Galium Saxatile L. (G. Hercynicum Weig.) and Galium Sylvestre Poll. (G. Asperum Schreb.) On Different Types of Soil” (1917). Tansley did not contribute new results to the study, but he interpreted data collected by two other authors.
Lastly is tertiary literature whereby the author uses primary and/or secondary literature to support their ideas or to organize them to make it easier for a reader. An example of this is the field guide “An ecologist’s guide to ecogenomics” (2007).
References:
MOLES, A. T., & WESTOBY, M. (2004). Seedling survival and seed size: A synthesis of the literature. Journal of Ecology, 92(3), 372-383. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-0477.2004.00884.x
OUBORG, N. J., & VRIEZEN, W. H. (2007). An ecologist’s guide to ecogenomics. Journal of Ecology, 95(1), 8-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2006.01197.x
Tansley, A. G. (1917). On Competition Between Galium Saxatile L. (G. Hercynicum Weig.) and Galium Sylvestre Poll. (G. Asperum Schreb.) On Different Types of Soil. Journal of Ecology, 5(3/4), 173–179. https://doi.org/10.2307/2255655
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 