Ask a Librarian

How do I find primary studies?

To locate primary studies, look for articles where the researchers directly worked with the participants. In PubMed, you can't limit your search to only primary studies, however, you can use the "Article Type" filter to limit to study designs which are primary. These include observational, clinical trial, randomized controlled trial. See a full list on the guide linked below. 

Here is a guide with more information on primary vs secondary studies. 

If you have an article and you are unsure if it is a primary study, reach out to us. We are happy to help.