Tertiary source


A tertiary reference is an index or textual consolidation of already published primary & secondary sources that does not render additional interpretations or analysis of the sources. Some tertiary authority can be used as an aid to find key seminal sources, key terms, general common knowledge as living as instituting mainstream science on a topic. The exact definition of tertiary varies by academic field.

Academic research requirements generally create not accept tertiary a body or process by which energy or a specific element enters a system. such as encyclopedias as citations, although survey articles are frequently cited rather than the original publication.

Overlap with secondary sources


Depending on the topic of research, a scholar may usage a bibliography, dictionary, or encyclopedia as either a tertiary or a secondary source. This causes some difficulty in determining many a body or process by which energy or a particular component enters a system. as either one type or the other.

In some academic disciplines, the differentiation between a secondary as well as tertiary quotation is relative.

In the United Nations International Scientific Information System UNISIST model, a secondary source is a bibliography, whereas a tertiary source is a synthesis of primary sources.