Assignment details : 3 articles, peer-reviewed, original research (not reviews), last 10 years, human, not medical, PDF available. Also use JAND (AMA) style.
I like other databases too, but we've got to use PubMed for Nutrition.
Look at your article. Is there a Methods section?
Yes -- It's probably original research.
No -- Look for another article.
Look again. Is it described as, or does it look like a review of original research articles?
Yes -- It's a review.
No -- It's original research.
More detail, if you need it
Look for a Methods or Methodology section. If you see that, the article is probably original research. (Sometimes you'll read or hear the term "primary.")
But wait! Reviews synthesize original research. Reviews may have a Methods or Methodology section also. If they are systematic reviews or meta-analyses (types of reviews) they'd certainly better have a Methods or Methodology section. (Reviews are "secondary.")
Distinguishing between original and review. Original research will describe (in the Methods section) analyzing people or animals or samples of something. On the other hand, reviews will analyze original research articles.
Example original. Note the 158 patients and 20 healthy controls. Not a review.
Example review. Note that the Methods section describes finding and analyzing 17 studies. Also notice label "Review," and as often happens the terms "systematic review and meta-analysis" in the article title. Also notice the gray label "Meta-Analysis" on PubMed record.
Careful! The introductory paragraphs of original research articles will very briefly review previous research too. Look at the a Methods or Methodology section instead.
Reviews will usually be labelled somewhere. Most systematic reviews and meta-analyses will say that in the article title. PubMed, and many other search interfaces, will have labels that say "Review."
Almost every article you find in PubMed will be peer-reviewed. This is especially true if it has a Methods section.
Filters in PubMed that you'll use the most
Publication Date -- You'll probably want to limit some (not all) of your searches to the last few years.
Article Type --
You'll probably limit sometimes to Review, or using the stricter definitions, Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Also, if you're interested in interventions, you might click on Randomized Controlled Trial and Clinical Trial. (There are still many original research designs that do not fall into these latter two types.)
Less frequently used filters. Use the Additional filters button.
Age -- Occasionally, you'll want to filter for one or two age ranges.
You might occasionally want to limit to Humans, to either Male or Female, or to English only. Most of the world's biomedical literature is in English, although you might find yourself sometimes looking at a list of recent articles only in German, Korean, or Brazilian Portuguese.
Also, as with English, for most results in most searches, you will have access to Full Text. Please don't be to quick to use the English and the Full Text filters. It can useful to know what you're not able to read right away.
