Skip to Main Content

NUR 2475

Professional Nursing Leadership, Management and Transition to Practice

Primary & Secondary Sources

In the context of nursing, a primary source reports on the findings of original research.

Primary sources include research such as:

  • Cohort studies
  • Case studies
  • Survey research
  • Randomized controlled trials (RCTs)

Secondary sources include resources such as:

  • Clinical practice guidelines
  • Patient education information
  • Reviews
  • Books

Types of Scholarly Publications

Peer-Reviewed Article

Articles that have undergone a rigorous review process (often including revisions to the original manuscript) by peers in their discipline, before publication in a scholarly journal.  

  • Also called a "refereed article"
  • This can include empirical studies, review articles, meta-analyses, and others.

Empirical Research Article

A study that aims to gain new knowledge on a topic through direct or indirect observation and research.

  • These include quantitative or qualitative data and analysis. 

  • Often include sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

  • Also called a "primary article"

Review Article

A type of article (in scientific literature) that provides a synthesis or general overview of existing research on a particular topic. 

  • These are useful when you want to get an idea of a body of research that you are not yet familiar with. 

Systematic Review

A methodical and thorough literature review that is meant to identify and synthesize all scholarly research on a particular topic in an unbiased, reproducible way.  

  • The goal of this type of article is to provide evidence for practice and policymaking.

  • May involve a meta-analysis.

Meta-analysis

A type of research study that combines or contrasts data from different independent studies in a new analysis in order to strengthen the understanding of a particular topic.