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Finding media articles and academic literature for Assessment 1

1. What you need to do

For assessment 1 you need to find the following information:

  • A relevant news/media article to use for your analysis, related to an organisational issue/workplace event or problem.
  • Academic literature to help guide and support your analysis and recommendations.

This assignment help will guide you in finding both types of material.

Note: ​Please refer to your course site for the full assessment details.

2. Finding media articles

For your assignment you will need to find a relevant news/media article to use for your analysis.

The Library subscribes to a number of databases which provide access to Australian and international news media articles. You can search using the following database:

How to search in Newsbank newspapers

  1. Below is an example search on working from home.
  2. Add your concept or search term into the search box.
  3. Select Search.

Example search within the Newsbank database. Search string: "working from home" OR "work from home" OR WFH.

  1. Newest articles are displayed by default.
  2. You can also refine your results by limiting the Source location > Australia.

You can also browse news media articles by using the 'Suggested Topics' on the homepage of Newsbank. To do this:

  • Select a suggested topic, e.g., Business and economics.
  • Then select one of the sub-topics within this area, e.g., Business types > Family-Owned Businesses.
  • You can refine your results by applying filters such as date, e.g., 2021-2023.

Screenshot of Suggested topics section of Newsbank database. The box 'Business and Economics' and link to 'Family-Owned Businesses' are both highlighted.

More help

3. Plan your search

The first thing to do before finding your academic literature is to plan your search. This requires evaluating your question or topic and identifying the key concepts and task words.

For example:

  • Question/task: 'Using examples found in current literature, describe how toxic leadership can affect motivation in the workplace.'
  • Key concepts you could include: toxic leadership, motivation, workplace. 

To cover the range of terminology used in the literature, you must also identify any synonyms or alternative names for each concept, per the example below.

Toxic leadership Motivation Workplace
Toxic boss Motive Worksite
Destructive leadership Incentive Company
Negative leadership Engagement Organisation 
  Hinder Office

More help

5. Finding academic literature

To do a search, try using:

  • double quotes for phrases
  • truncation* to find the plural and other forms of a word
  • connect words and phrases using AND, OR and NOT

For example, the search: "toxic leadership" AND motivation

Library catalogue search bar, with search string ("toxic leadership" AND motivation) input.

In the results list you can:

  • Limit to articles from peer reviewed publications 
  • Limit by date, e.g., 2019 to 2024
  • See the full text for many items - select the title then look for the online link

This is an example of an Advanced Search using Business Source Ultimate.

sample search in Business Source Ultimate

Tip: You can limit your search by date range and to peer reviewed articles from the box on the left-hand side of the results screen.

Screenshot of search within the Library search bar, on the Google Scholar tab. Search string: "toxic leadership" AND motivation.

  1. Select Google Scholar from above the Library search bar.
  2. Enter your search terms and select search.

Accessing Google Scholar through the Library website will link you directly to articles that the Library has access to when you click on the Fulltext at UniSA links from your search results.

Referencing support

Managing your references

What do you do with all those references you have found? You can use a bibliographic management software to store, organise, and cite your references.

There are many free systems available. The Library supports the bibliographic management tool EndNote. EndNote automates citing your references and allows you to create and organise a library of references. For more information and to download the software, check out the EndNote Guide:

7. More study help

Now that you have your information, it is time to put everything together. The below resources will help you get started:

8. Feedback