What is scholarly literature?
Scholarly literature is
Scholarly literature includes:
Scholarly literature does not include:
In general, scholarly information sources can be sorted into three types: primary, secondary, and tertiary.
Type of Source | Definition | Examples |
---|---|---|
Primary |
Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based.
The works present new thinking/discoveries/results and unite them with the existing knowledge base. |
Conference papers Monographs Technical Reports Theses & dissertations Journal articles reporting on primary studies (RCTs, observational studies, case-control studies, etc.) |
Secondary |
Secondary sources are those which are published about the primary literature. They are sources that:
----OR----
|
Review articles (systematic reviews, literature reviews, comprehensive narrative reviews, etc.) Databases (PubMed, Embase, etc.)
|
Tertiary |
Tertiary sources consist of information which is a distillation and collection of primary and secondary sources. They aim to provide a broad overview of a topic, or data, already proven facts, and definitions, often presented in a convenient form. They provide no new information |
Reference works (encyclopedias, textbooks, guides, handbooks) Point of care resources (Micromedex, UpToDate, Facts & Comparisons) |
You previously learned about tertiary resources, so this guide focuses on primary and secondary sources.
When searching for pharmacy-related scholarly information or literature, you will want to consider the following secondary sources: PubMed and Embase.
PubMed and Embase are the two major health sciences databases. PubMed has a slight focus on literature from the US, and Embase has a slight focus on literature from Europe and Japan.
PubMed and Embase have a number of similarities. Both databases:
However, there are some key differences between PubMed and Embase.
PubMed:
Embase:
Once you've found your journal articles (primary and secondary literature), it's up to you to figure out how good the studies are. Less than ten percent of articles published in core medical journals are both high quality AND clinically useful. You'll need to be a discerning reader to determine the quality and significance of any literature you find in your searches. Later sessions of this course will focus on study design and critical appraisal of published studies.
It is also good to be aware of the inherent biases that may exist in scholarly literature. Certain types of studies are more likely to be overrepresented, such as those in the USA and Europe, with positive results, focused on white populations, or by authors affiliated with highly funded institutions. Other types of studies are more likely to underrepresented in the literature, such as those set in the Global South, with negative results, on BIPOC populations, or by authors with less funding. This may mean the first literature results you see are missing perspectives that would be useful, so it's recommended to run multiple searches in different places to confirm the information you've found and the comprehensiveness of your search.