WCSU Libraries

What is a secondary source?

Secondary sources list, summarize, and evaluate primary information and studies so as to draw conclusions on or present our current state of knowledge in a discipline or subject. Sources may include a bibliography which may direct you back to the primary research reported in the article. Examples include a summary of recent research into a drug, an analysis of a nursing theory, an educational video presenting nursing skills, or a narrative about the life of a famous nurse.

How Can Secondary Sources Answer Background Questions?

Secondary sources should be used to answer Background Questions. Background questions ask for general knowledge of disease processes or clinical contexts; they ask "who, what, when, why, where or how" about a single disease, drug, intervention or concept.

Accessing Secondary Sources

Secondary sources can be accessed both in print and online. Online sources are often preferred as the most current source of information and can be searched. But sometimes browsing a drug handbook or medical dictionary is just what you need.

Secondary sources include:

• Reviews, syntheses, or summaries of literature and research findings (found in articles, monographs, and textbooks)
• Entries in nursing or medical encyclopedias
• Drug information in handbooks, databases, pamphlets
• Nursing or medical bibliographies
• Abstracting/Indexing services/databases
• Newsletters and professional news sources
• Practice guidelines & standards
• Clinical care notes
• Nursing education videos/DVD's
• Patient education Information
• Government & legal Information