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Criminal
Justice
Tutorial
Introduction & Contents
Resources - links to the materials mentioned in this tutorial
Chapter 1

 

 

 

 

 
Chapter 1.1: Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Published information in criminal justice may be fundamentally divided into primary and secondary literature. Primary sources report the results of scientifically designed, original research studies carried out by professional researchers (university faculty or professional criminal justice practitioners). Primary source publications usually follow a format similar to that below:

1. Introduction Purpose and background of the study
2. Literature Review Review of previous studies on the subject
3. Methods The data gathering methods employed by the researcher in the current study
4. Results What the researcher found (raw results)
5. Discussion More in-depth consideration of results
6. Conclusion Final conclusions of the study and suggestions for further research
7. Literature Cited / List of References A list of previous publications on the current subject that the author cited in her/his study

Secondary sources (most books and popular articles) provide overviews of knowledge in a field drawn from the combined outcome of many scientific studies (primary sources) over time.

Most college-level papers require the use of both kinds of publication types.

Next: Where are Primary and Secondary Sources Published?

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