Science literature is made up of primary and secondary literature, together known as scholarly literature--research reports and analysis--and tertiary literature--news, opinion, and summaries. In most cases, you should use the "most primary" source available for academic work.
Tertiary literature is a general term for non-original or non-scholarly work. Science stories in newspapers are tertiary. Textbooks are also generally considered tertiary, because they report summaries of research and analysis, not original work. Most Dictionaries and Encyclopedias are tertiary and should be used for background information, identification of key vocabulary terms for searching, and quick information. See the Background Information page (left) for resources.
Scholarly literature (primary and secondary) is mostly made up of Journal Articles, primarily searched through online databases, or Scholarly Books, searched in the Library Catalog. See the Journal Articles page and/or the Books page for resources.
Websites can be any level of literature but are most often secondary or tertiary.
Most HHS classes use the APA (American Psychological Association) style for paper and citation formatting. The Library provides the Academic Writer platform, which includes the APA Manual, tutorials, templates, and citation formatting, as well as additional guides.
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