Each academic discipline develops a unique body of knowledge that is communicated through its literature. Before you begin researching a topic in psychology, it is important to have a basic understanding of how the literature is published. This section will also provide a brief introduction to the field of psychology, and introduce you to the different types of research common in the discipline. After completing this section, you will be able to:

• Recognize different types of psychological studies
• Understand the difference between primary and secondary literature
• Distinguish between scholarly and popular literature