Understanding Research Report Publication: Primary Sources

This question asks about the typical publication type for research reports. Let's break down the options to understand where research findings are commonly documented.

Defining Source Types

It's important to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources:

• Primary Sources: These are original, firsthand accounts or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. Examples include research reports, surveys, interviews, raw data, experimental results, and historical documents. They represent original findings or data collection.
• Secondary Sources: These analyze, interpret, summarize, or comment on primary sources. Examples include literature reviews, textbooks, articles that review previous research, and critiques.

Analyzing the Options

Now let's evaluate each option in the context of research reports:

• 1. Primary sources: Research reports contain original findings, data, and analysis conducted by the researchers themselves. They are the direct product of the research process, making them quintessential examples of primary sources.
• 2. On internet: While many research reports are indeed published online via the internet, the internet is a *medium* of distribution, not a *type* of source. A report published online is still fundamentally a primary source.
• 3. On CD ROM Products: Similar to the internet, CD ROMs are a storage and distribution medium. Research reports found on CD ROMs are classified by their content (original research), not their physical format. They remain primary sources.
• 4. Secondary sources: Secondary sources discuss or analyze existing information. A research report presents new findings, so it is not a secondary source itself. Articles that *summarize* or *review* multiple research reports would be secondary sources.

Conclusion on Research Reports

Research reports present original work and findings. Therefore, they are classified as primary sources. The medium through which they are accessed (internet, CD ROM, printed journal) does not change their classification as primary sources.