Types of information

Academic vs non-academic

Academic or non-academic information may also be referred to as scholarly or non-scholarly information.

During your study, you may be asked to cite only academic sources for some assessment tasks, while non-scholarly sources may be permitted for others.

It’s important to recognise the differences between these types of information so you can select appropriate sources for your research or study.

Asking the following questions can help you distinguish academic from non-academic sources.

A primary source is an original, first-hand account of an event or topic, which has been recorded by people directly involved. Examples include:

A secondary source is one in which a second party (not involved with the creation of the original primary sources) provides analysis, interpretation, synthesis or commentary about primary sources. Examples include: 

Some primary sources may cite, depict, quote, remix or interpret other primary sources. In these instances, they become both primary and secondary. For example:

• A conductor and orchestra performing a composer’s music (this is primary as it is an original performance, but also secondary because it is an interpretation of the original sheet music).
• A hip-hop artist re-using a segment of music from an original recording in a new piece of music (this is primary as it is an original composition, but also secondary because it re-uses a primary source).

Journal literature

In scholarly journals, a further distinction is made between primary and secondary research.

Primary (original) research articles

Primary (original) research articles report research in which the author(s) have:

• identified a hypothesis, theory or phenomenon they wish to investigate
• designed and executed the research methods or process themselves
• analysed the original primary sources or research data
• published their results or conclusions for the first time.

Secondary (review) articles

Secondary (review) articles are those in which the author(s) evaluate, synthesise or comment on published primary research. There are many different types of review articles suited to different fields and purposes, including:

• narrative literature reviews
• scoping reviews
• systematic reviews
• meta-analyses
• integrative reviews
• rapid reviews.

Some forms of primary research include both primary and secondary information. For example, original research articles, conference papers and theses will often include a literature review and a discussion which provides analysis on their new research findings in the context of previously published research. Citations indicate the sections in a scholarly work that present secondary research or analysis. To learn more, visit our page on the structure of journal articles.