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Computer Science

Find library resources for research in computer science.

Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources are useful for research within the discipline. You may use one, both, or all of these types of sources when conducting your research. The types of sources chosen will depend on your research topic.

Primary Sources

First-Hand Evidence or Raw Materials 

The following are a list of examples of primary sources in various disciplines:

  • Anthropology, Archaeology: Ethnographies, surveys, articles describing research, cultural and historical artifacts
  • Communications, Journalism: News (printed, radio, TV, online), photographs, blogs, social media sites
  • Education, Political Science, Public Policy: Government publications, laws, court cases, speeches, test results, interviews, polls, surveys
  • Fine Arts: Original art work, photographs, recordings of performances and music, scripts (film, theatre, television), music scores interviews, memoirs, diaries, letters, autobiographies
  • History: Government publications, newspapers, photographs, diaries, letters, manuscripts, business records, court cases, videos, polls, census data, speeches, autobiographies
  • Language and Literature: Novels (fiction), plays, short stories poems, autobiographies
  • Psychology, Sociology, Economics: Articles describing research, results of experiments, ethnographies, interviews, surveys, data sets
  • Sciences: Articles describing research and methodologies, documentation of lab research, research studies

Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources are useful for research within the discipline. You may use one, both, or all of these types of sources when conducting your research. The types of sources chosen will depend on your research topic.

Secondary Sources

Recount & Interpret Information from Primary Sources 

The following are a list of examples of secondary sources in various disciplines:

  • Anthropology, Archaeology: Reviews of the literature, critical interpretations of scholarly studies
  • Communications, Journalism: Interpretive journal articles, books, and blogs about the communications industry
  • Education, Political Science, Public Policy: Reviews of the literature, critical interpretations of scholarly studies
  • Fine Arts: Critical interpretations of art and artists (all formats), biographies, reviews, textbooks
  • History: Interpretations in any format such as journal articles, books, multimedia, websites
  • Language and Literature: Literary criticism, biographies, reviews, textbooks, language manuals
  • Psychology, Sociology, Economics: Reviews of the literature, critical interpretations of scholarly studies
  • Sciences: Publications that review or discuss the significance of research or experiments

Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources are useful for research within the discipline. You may use one, both, or all of these types of sources when conducting your research. The types of sources chosen will depend on your research topic.

Tertiary Sources

Compile & Summarize Primary and Secondary Sources 

The following are a list of examples of tertiary sources in various disciplines:

  • Anthropology, Archaeology: Encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, handbooks
  • Communications, Journalism: Encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, handbooks
  • Education, Political Science, Public Policy: Encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, graphical representation of data (i.e. data visualization)
  • Fine Arts: Guides, dictionaries, bibliographies, discographies
  • History: Encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, indexes
  • Language and Literature: Bibliographies, compilations, indexes, dictionaries
  • Psychology, Sociology, Economics: Handbooks, manuals, encyclopedias, dictionaries
  • Sciences: Dictionaries, manuals, handbooks, bibliographies
Subjects: Computer Science
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