Communication is an essential part of sharing and understanding new scientific developments. In the modern age, with global media and easily accessible platforms, scientific literature can be spread across the world within minutes.
Users and readers need to understand that there are numerous types of scientific literature, and each has its own purposes. Some literature is made with scholars and academics in mind.
Other publications may be made for the general public, to inform people of the latest going ons and show them the new and fascinating progress in different fields.
Then, it has to be considered the educational material that is intended for public use but caters to a more specific audience. These can be used to better your understanding of a particular topic or study.
Importance of the Source of Your Information
Primary literature is material that comes straight from the source. These are original research articles that have been made by scientists who report their findings and publish them. They may choose to publish their findings in research studies, conference papers, dissertations or even in patents. It all depends on who the findings are intended for.
Then, there are secondary sources, which derive from the primary, but can have additional reviews or opinions to add. Secondary sources may also seek to take the information and publish it through another medium, such as on social network blogs or publications that are easier for the general public to access. When opening the door to tertiary sources, then you have to be more careful with the information. These sources may take their material from the secondary source, or even other tertiary sources to present the news elsewhere. Sometimes, this is not a problem, as the information from the literature is retained and presented in a way that it is more accessible to its targeted demographic.
Primary Research Articles
These can include first-hand publications, editorials, reports and journalologies on scientific papers, depending on the subject matter. Some papers may document recent breakthroughs, presenting statistics, data and information based on the tests and findings. Other documents may have those findings and include assumptions made by the scientists to speculate on their relevance and how the information could be used. The World Health Organisation, for example, often uses technical reports to publish vital information for scientists.
Conference Proceedings
Conference-long papers are a vital platform for distributing scientific communications across the broader community. While technically the long papers are secondary sources, they report the happenings during the conference and highlight the most important talking point.
These are not to be confused with the archived copies of presentations and notes that scientists bring to conferences. Those documents may not be publically revealed, or some time may elapse between the conference and the findings to ensure that the information is properly reviewed by peers and, therefore, will not be met with criticism upon release. But, on occasion, abstracts from conference proceedings may be released on scholarly databases to help students and inform the general public about the raw data and methodology.
Books and Series of Books
These can be primary, secondary or tertiary, but the main point to note about books is that it takes a long time to gather the information and have it published. The analysis tends to be far more in-depth than a news post or a blog, but as it takes longer to publish a book, the information may not include the most recent developments. However, books are a good source for any reader who wants to understand a topic in better depth and find a holistic view of the topic.
News, Magazines and Scientific Blogs
News articles, renowned magazines and blogs are a vital method of communicating to the public. While establishments such as NASA, the UN, the NSF, and the EPA may publish their news articles and blogs to keep the public informed, there are lots of publications written by tertiary sources. It is important to recognise where the news is coming from.
Public service broadcasters will also publish findings, occasionally sending journalists to physical sites to document their own findings and present them to the public. But they also may rely on secondary or tertiary sources for their matieral, which can definitely taint the quality of the information.
Gray Literature
This is an umbrella term for all literature that is produced outside traditional publishing and recognised distribution platforms. Instead of books and journals, this term is used to specify white papers, evaluations, governmental papers, working papers and information from private companies and consultants. But the definition of gray literature has evolved greatly.
With the advent of the Internet and social media platforms, there has been a great rise in the number of grey literature in the form of unregulated news articles, comments, peer reviews and lesser-known publishers that can be found on the internet search engines.
Using Research to Back Up Any Findings
Reading through a publication or article is not enough on its own. You must do your homework. Cross-research your findings to ensure that you get the big picture, and you can follow up on reviews and critiques to enhance your grasp on the subject matter. If you find contrasting material and cannot discern which information is reliable, you can always search for the primary source to find the original data.
There are lots of excellent platforms and sources to increase your knowledge on the topic that you want to learn more about. By catching up on news articles and peer reviews, you will undoubtedly have enough information to form your own assumptions and opinions.