Assume that there are two papers A and B that give two different approaches to the same problem.
Paper A. This paper presents the method I used in my assignment.
Paper B. As reported in paper C (and some other sources): Paper B improves and combines the ideas in papers D and E. Without understanding D and E, it would be hard to understand B. Paper F shows that the method in paper B is no longer good/usable/recommended.
Reading all of papers B, D, E, F would take me a lot of time.
I did not use the method in paper B, but it is still part of the literature and has historical significance. In the background/literature review section,
- Should I omit paper B in my report (background section), or
- Should I cite paper C as a secondary source?