RevisedLearningObjectives

Attheendofthistraining,teachers(bothemergingandcurrentscienceeducators)willbeable
todeterminewhetherawebbasedscientificresourceisreliableforclassroomuse.Teachers
willbeableto
1. Identifywhetheranarticleisfromaprimary,secondary,ortertiarysource.
2. Determinewhichtypeofresourceisbestsuitedforagivenclassoflearners.

Introduction
Inpreparingtobecomeascienceteacher,youhavelikelyreadsciencearticlesofmany
kinds,eachwithitsowntargetaudience.Buthowdidyourteachersdeterminewhicharticles
wereappropriateforyourclass?Newsarticles,blogs,andscientificjournalscanallbeuseful
sourcesofcurrentscientificinformationandnews.Relatingcontenttorealworldnewscanhelp
makethematerialmoreengagingandexcitingforthelearners.Yetnotallonlinescientific
publishingisthesamesomearticlesarewrittenatahighlytechnicallevel,whileothersmybe
moreaccessible,yetlessreliable.Howcanyoutellwhicharticlesareappropriatetousewith
your
students?Bytheendofthistraining,youwillbeableto
1. Identifywhetheranarticleisfromaprimary,secondary,ortertiarysource.
2. Determinewhichtypeofresourceisbestsuitedforagivengroupoflearners.

PrimarySources
Explanation
Primaryresearcharticlesarepublishedinprofessionaljournals.Thesesourcesare
usuallywrittenbythescientiststhatconducttheresearchanduseaverytechnicallanguage.
Thetargetaudienceisgenerallythescientificcommunity,sothistypeofarticleisgenerally
reliableonlyforstudentswiththehighestlevelreadingskills.Inaddition,primaryarticleshavea
verynarrowtopicalfocus,makingitdifficultforteacherstoincorporateinasurveylevelcourse.
HereisanexampleofatitleandabstractfromanarticlepublishedintheAmericanChemical
Societysjournal,AppliedMaterialsandInterfaces:


Source:http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/am5022717

Noticethatthetextiswritteninalanguagethatismoreadvancedthanmoststudentswouldbe
abletocomprehend.Additionally,thefullarticlecostsmoneytoaccessunlesstheuserhasan
account.Manyschooldistrictshaveaccesstoprofessionaljournals,socheckwithyourLEAif
youdeterminethatthislevelofwritingisappropriateforyourlearners.Examplesofsourcesof
primaryarticlesinclude:
Nature
TheNewEnglandJournalofMedicine
Variousjournalsfromthe
AmericanChemicalSociety

Assessment:
Allofthefollowingheadlinescomefromarticlesreportingonthesamestory.
Whichheadlinemostlikelycamefromaprimarysource?
1. ScientistsCreatedaNewFormofMatterandIt'sLikeaLightsaber
a. Thisarticlecamefrom
Gizmodo
,whichcansometimesactasasecondaryor

tertiarysource
2. Attractivephotonsinaquantumnonlinearmedium
a. Thisarticlecamefrom
Nature
andmostcertainlyisaprimarysource.Notethe
complexityofthelanguageusedinthetitleandthelackofmentionoflightsabers.
3. Seeinglightinanewlight:Scientistscreateneverbeforeseenformofmatter
a. Thisarticlewaspublishedby
ScienceDaily
andisasecondarysource.The
articletakesaprofessionaltone,yetiswritteninastylethattheaveragereader
islikelytocomprehend.
4. MIT,Harvardscientistsaccidentallycreatereallifelightsaber
a. Thisarticlecomesfrom
FOXNews
.Theheadlineiswrittentoattractreaders,
notnecessarilytoaccuratelyconveytheresultofascientificstudy.

Reliability
Onefinalnoteofcaution:whileprimarysourceshaveastrongreputationforbeingmore
reliablethanothersourcesofinformation,cautionshouldstillbeexercisedinapproachinga
primarysource.Somescientificjournalspublishoffthewallarticlesfromauthorsthatare
otherwiseignoredoroutcastbythemajorityofthescientificcommunity.Forexample,in2013,
theJournalofCosmologypublishedan
article
claimingtohavefoundevidenceoflifefromouter
spacethisarticlehassincebeenrejectedfromthemajorityofthescientificcommunity.While
therearenosetrulesindeterminingwhetheranarticleisreliableornot,doublechecking
dubiousresearchacrosssecondaryandtertiaryresourcescangiveaclearerideaofwhatthe
restofthescientificcommunityissaying.

SecondarySources
Explanation
Secondarysourcessiftthroughthetechnicalinformationofprimarysourcesand
summarizethepurposeandimpactofaprimaryarticle.Thesesourcesarewrittenina
languagethatismoreaccessibletoalargeraudienceandoftenlinkthediscoveriestoa
realworldapplication.Theycitetheirsourcesregularlyanddirectlyreferencetheprimary
sources,givingthereadertheopportunitytofactcheckwhatisbeingreported.Inlearning
aboutprimarysources,youreadtheabstracttoanarticletitledAnisotropicallyFunctionalized
CarbonNanotubeArrayBasedHygroscopicScaffolds.Hereisthesamearticlepublishedina
secondarysource,ScienceAlert:


Source:http://sciencealert.com.au/news/2014170625691.html
Thearticledescribesthesamestoryaboutanewcompoundthatabsorbsmoisturefromtheair,
yetismuchmoreaccessibletotheaveragereader.Alsonotethatthearticledescribesthe
scienceinvolvedintheprocessinalanguagethatismoreeasilyunderstoodthanaprimary
source,yetisstillwrittenatalevelthatrequiressomesciencebackground.Thearticleis
succinctandrealisticthepurposeoftheresearchismadeclear,butthelimitationsarealso
presented,inthiscasetheneedtoreducemanufacturingcosts.
Whilesecondaryarticlesareoftenpublishedbyindependentsources,manyjournals
includetheirownnewsfeedthattranslatestheirprimaryresearchforwiderconsumption.For
example,the
ScienceMagazine
websitehasbothafeedforprimaryjournalarticlesandafeed
formoreaccessiblywrittennews.
Additionally,manysecondarysourcesarereadilyavailablethroughsocialmedia.For

example,HankGreensYouTubechannel
SciShow
isagreatalternativetoreadingarticlesand
isgenerallymoreaccessibletostudents.
Othersecondarysourcesofscientificinformationinclude:
ScienceDaily
ScienceAlert
DNews
IFLScience
(Caution:thissitesometimesuseslanguagethatmaybeinappropriatefor
classroomenvironments.)
ScienceNewsforKids

Assessment
Threeofthefollowingheadlinescomefromaprimarysourcewhileonecomesfromasecondary
source.Whicharticlecomesfromasecondarysource?
1. AnimaltrappingrecordsrevealstrongwolfeffectacrossNorthAmerica
a. Thisarticlecomesfrom
ScienceDaily
,asecondarysource.Thelanguageis
complex,yetmoreeasilyunderstoodthantheotherarticlesinthislist.
2. NewStrategyforReversibleModulationofProteinActivitythroughSiteSpecific
ConjugationofSmallMoleculeandPolymer
a. Thisarticlecomesfromajournalpublishedbythe
AmericanChemicalSociety
,a
primarysource.
3. AttitudestowardsnoninvasiveprenataltestingforaneuploidyamongUSadultsof
reproductiveage
a. Thisarticlecomesfromthe
JournalofPerinatology
,aprimarysource.
4. AUTOANTIBODIESAGAINSTNEUTROPHILSANDMONOCYTES:TOOLFOR
DIAGNOSISANDMARKEROFDISEASEACTIVITYINWEGENER'S
GRANULOMATOSIS
a. Thisarticlecomesfrom
TheLancet
,aprimarysource.
Reliability
Whilecautionshouldalwaysbetakenwhenevaluatingthereliabilityofanewssource,
secondarysourcesaregenerallymoreheavilyfactcheckedbythepubliccommunitythan
tertiarysources,makingsecondarysourcesasortofsweetspotforeducationalarticlesthey
arebothreliableandaccessibletoreaders.Manysecondarysourcesalsoincludeacomments
sectionwherereaderscanprovidefeedback.Thesecommentsectionsalsooftenincludea
systemforthecommunitytopromotethebestfeedbacktothetopofthelist,soifthereisa
problemwiththearticleinquestion,itwilloftenbeinthetopofthecommentssection.

TertiarySources
Explanation
Whilemostguidestoscientificarticlesmentiononlyprimaryandsecondarycategories,a
distinctionbetweentwotypesofsecondarysourceshasemerged.Here,theywillbereferredto
assecondaryandtertiarysources.Tertiarysourcesarethosethatgenerallydonotacquire
theirinformationfromnovelresearchorprimarysources.Theinformationusedinatertiary
sourcecancomefromasecondarysource,andinterview,orapressrelease.Tertiarysources

includenewssites,blogs,andmanysocialmediafeeds.Thefollowingarticleistakenfroma
tertiarynewssource,
BBCNews
.

Source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z8kccdm

Noticethatthearticleismorevisuallyappealingthantheexamplesforprimaryand
secondarysources.Tertiarysourcesprimarilyrelyonfundingbaseduponthenumberof
visitorstotheirsite.Theywillthereforeemploymorevisualmaterialtargetedtowardaswideof
anaudienceaspossible.Tertiarysourcescanbeusefulbecauseareaderoftenrequireslittle
backgroundknowledgeofthesubjectinordertounderstandthearticle.Anyideasthatthe
generalreadermightnotunderstandareusuallyexplainedintertiarysources.Additionally,
thesesourcesreportoncurrenteventsthatmaynotbecoveredbyprimaryandsecondary
sources.Examplesoftertiarysourcesinclude:
BBCNews
,
FOXNews
,andotherglobalnewsmedia
HuffingtonPost
Imagesandpostspublishedonsocialmediasites

Assessment
Classifyeachofthefollowingheadlinesasaprimary,secondary,ortertiarysource.

Reliability

Theliteraryaccessibilityoftertiarysourcescancomeataprice.Inordertoattractmore
readers,tertiarysourcesarepronetoblowingastoryoutofproportionwithheadlinesthat
heraldeitheragoldenageUtopiaoranimpendingapocalypse.Readersaregenerallymore
drawntoarticlesdescribingtheendoftheworldatthehandofvirusesthananarticledescribing
anewstateofmatteroranew,surprisinglylargeplanet.
Additionally,tertiarysourcesareoftenmuchmoresubjecttoreportingbiasthanprimary
orsecondarysources.Ifanewssiteisfundedbyapoliticallyconservativeorganization,they
mayreportastorydifferentlythanamoreliberalsource.Forexample,thefollowingheadlines
bothreportonthesamestoryabouta2014rulingregardingnetneutrality.

Tertiaryresourcesshouldthereforebemoreheavilyscreenedforerrorsbeforebeing
usedintheclassroom.Alternatively,bogusorexaggeratedstoriescouldopenupgreat
conversationsaboutscientificliteracy.Wikipediahaspublishedagreat
article
addressing
approachesfordeterminingthereliabilityofallthreetypesofsources.(Note:Wikipediagroups
secondaryandtertiarysourcesintoonecategory)

Whattypeofarticleisbestformylearners?
Explanation
Beingabletodistinguishthetypesofsourcesisonlythefirststepinclassroom
implementation.Inordertodeterminewhattypesofsourcesaremostrelevanttothelearners
inyourclassroom,thestudentsliteracylevelsmustbetakeintoconsideration.Whileonlyyou
candeterminewhichtypeofarticleyourstudentscanunderstand,thefollowinggeneral
guidelinescanbefollowed.

TypeofClass

AppropriateArticles

ChallengingArticles

MiddleSchool

Tertiarysources,possibly
secondarysourcesforupper
grades

Secondarysources

HighSchoolGeneral

Tertiaryandsecondarysources
Highendsecondarysources
forgeneralstudentsstudents
(e.g.ScienceDaily)
withlearningdisabilitiesmayonly
beabletoreadtertiary,butcould
progressintosecondary

HighSchoolHonors
andAPCourses

Highendsecondarysources,
tertiarysourcesforperspective
andliteracy

Primarysources

CollegeStudents

Primarysources

Writingprimaryresearch
articles

Assessment
Mrs.GaskinsteachesahighschoolEnvironmentalSciencecourse.Herstudentsare
composedmostlyoffreshmenwhohaveverylittlepastexperiencewithreadingscientific
literature.Whichtypeofarticleshouldshe
start
herstudentswith?
1. Primary
a. Primaryresearchwouldbetooadvancedforstudentswithlittlescientificliteracy
experience.
2. Secondary
a. Whilethestudentsmaybeabletohandlemoreaccessiblesecondarysources
laterintheclass,theywouldbetoodifficultforstudentswithnoexperience.
3. Tertiary
a. Studentswouldlikelybemostfamiliarwithatertiarystyleofwriting,makingthem
thebestchoicetobeginusingwiththestudents.Dependingonhowtheclass
progresses,secondarysourcesmaylaterbeused.

Conclusion
Theuseofarticlesintheclassroompresentsanopportunitytorelatewhattheyare
learninginclasstothecurrenteventsinthescientificcommunity.Oncestudentsrecognizethat
thetheoriestheyarestudyinghaveapplicationstotherealworld,theconnectionscanhelpbuild
enthusiasmandmotivation.Asageneralrule
Primaryarticlesarepublishedbyscientistsandgenerallyfeatureanadvancedreading
level.Theyaremostcommonlyusedforcollegestudentsandadvancedhighschool
students,butcanbedifficulttoaccess.
Secondaryarticlesreportdirectlyontheprimaryarticlesandoftenrequiresome
scientificknowledgetounderstand,butareaccessibletohighschoolandadvanced
middleschoolstudents.
Tertiaryarticlesaremorewidelydistributedthanprimaryorsecondaryarticlesandare
appropriateforreadersofallages.Cautionshouldbeusedwithtertiaryarticles,astheir
profitmotivecanleadtocompromisesinscientificintegrity.Thiscanalsoleadtogreat
conversationsintheclassroomaboutreadingbetweenthelinesinanewsstory.


MasteryAssessment
Matchthedescriptionofaclasswiththebestarticlechoice.
1. Mr.Garretts8thgradeScienceclassisfilledwithadvancedreaderslookingforthenext
stepafterreadingmostlytertiaryarticlesthisschoolyear.
2. Ms.Johnsons11thgradeBiologyclasscontainsmanystudentswhoreadataverylow
levelandarehavingdifficultyunderstandingthesecondaryarticlesshehasbeenusing.
3. Ms.LibbysremedialBiologycourseneedstobuildabridgetothehighlevelarticles
usedincollegecoursesforherstudentsthathaveadifficulttimeunderstandinghighly
scientificwriting.
4. Mr.HenryislookingtopushhisAPChemistrystudentstothenextlevel.
5. Mr.Kellys6thgradeSciencestudentsarestartingtogetintosocialmedia,buthave
verylittleexperiencewithsciencewriting.

ExtraTipsandTricks
Primaryarticlescanbefoundthrough
GoogleScholar
.
Sometimes,findingprimary
articlescanbedifficult,asmanycurrentjournalsrequiresubscriptionoraccessfees.
GoogleScholarisagreatwayforteachers(andstudents)tosearchforresearchona
particulartopic.
Manyarticlesincludelinkstotheirsources.
Scanningarticlescanbeausefulwayto
findhigherlevelarticles.Forexample,secondarysourcesoftenhavealinktothe
primarysourcethattheyarereferencing.Thiscanhelpyoufindarticlesthataremore
appropriateforyourclassorhelpscaffoldlearnersintohigherlevelarticles.
Checkinoften.
Onceyouknowwhatlevelofarticleyouarelookingforandsome
placestofindsucharticles,buildingarepositoryofarticlescanbeusefulinapinch.The
bestapproachistoselectoneortwosourcesthatwouldbeappropriateforyourclasses
literacylevels.Thismaymeanthatyouselectasecondaryandatertiarysource.Many
sitesupdatedaily,soregularlycheckingtheheadlinesforappropriatearticlescanhelp
youbuildarepertoireofarticlesthatyoucanprint,bookmark,orsaveusingaweb
servicelike
Evernote
.Thismaytakesometimetobuild,butensuresthatyourarticles
willalwaysbecurrent.
Searchingforarticlescanbedifficult.
Whatifyouneedanarticleforalessonnext
week?Mostwebsiteshaveasearchbarthatwillallowyoutosearchforarticlesbased
onkeywords.However,searchingforanappropriatearticlecanbedifficult,especially
sincerelevantarticlesrarelyusevocabularythatmatchesyourcurriculum.
Forexample,Mr.Crousewassearchingforasecondaryarticletouseinhisuniton
acidsandbasesinhishighschoolHonorsChemistrycourse.Hefiguredthatmost
studentshadsomeideaofwhatacidswerelike,butwantedanarticleaboutbases,as
studentswerelesslikelytoknowhowbasesbehave.Heusedthesearchbaronthe
ScienceDailywebsitetosearchforbases.Theresults,shownontheleftsideofthe
tablebelow,werelessthanhelpful.Mostoftheresultshadtodowiththebasepairs
foundinDNA,notsolutionswithahighpH.Hethentriedsearchingforalkaline,aword
thatmeantthesamethingaswhathewaslookingfor,buthaslessofachancetobe

confusedwithanotherterm.Theresultsareshownontherightsideofthepairof
imagesbelow.

Searchforbases

Searchforalkaline

Links
Primary

Nature
TheNewEngland
JournalofMedicine
Variousjournalsfrom
the
American
ChemicalSociety

Secondary

ScienceDaily
ScienceAlert
DNews
IFLScience
(Caution:
thissitesometimes
useslanguagethat
maybeinappropriate
forclassroom
environments.)
ScienceNewsfor
Kids

Tertiary

BBCNews
,
FOX
News
,andother
globalnewsmedia
HuffingtonPost
Imagesandposts
publishedonsocial
mediasites