Casestudy

What is the primary literature?
Scientists who conduct original research use the primary literature (a.k.a., “scientific journals”) as an avenue to present the results and conclusions of their research to the scientific community and general public. Primary literature is different from publications such as magazines and newspapers in that all articles in a scientific journal are “peer reviewed.” This means that for a researcher to publish an article in a scientific journal, the article must be deemed appropriate by other scientists (typically 3-4) who are experts in the specific area that the article covers. Reviewers judge articles on the basis of their relevance, originality, validity of methods and statistical analyses, and quality of results/conclusions. Depending on the journal, these requirements are often quite stringent. If accepted, the process of publishing articles (from submission to acceptance) in peer-reviewed journals may take several months to a few years.