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BIOL 364: Immunology: Finding Research

This guide highlights resources that will help you save time and find materials for projects in your BIOL 364 Immunology course.

Research is M E S S Y

Research Cycle: Ideal     VS.Research Cycle: Actual

Images taken from UIC Library Research Guide

Research Strategies

Primary Sources

Primary sources are ones written by the scientists who performed the experiments, during the time of the study - these articles include original research data. 

Secondary sources are ones that summarize or compare lots of research in a particular area.

So how can you tell if a science article is a primary source?  Primary research articles will include sections about:

  • methodology -  explaining how the experiment was conducted
  • results - detailing what happened and providing raw data sets (often as tables or graphs)
  • conclusions - connecting the results with theories and other research
  • references - to previous research or theories that influenced the research

Core Databases

How do you know when you are done researching?

Are you seeing the same articles over and over?

via GIPHY

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