Knowing where to search is just as important as knowing how to search. The following video will help you to understand why and when to use different search tools.
Video length: 2 min 14 sec
Key points from the video:
The Library Collection is a good place to start your search for scholarly content. You can use it to find eBooks, journal articles, reports, videos and more.
Using the "Refine my results" menu, you can refine your search to find exactly what you need.
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Google Scholar searches academic and scholarly websites.
Searching Google Scholar via the Library website activates a "Full-text at UniSA" link - this gives you direct access to Library-subscribed content.
Google Scholar refers to grey literature in the broad sense of information found outside the recognised databases. It primarily searches academic papers so results are not necessarily grey literature. Results can include:
Works are from academic publishers, professional societies and university repositories, as well as scholarly articles available anywhere across the web. Many government documents are indexed from the publisher site not the government site.
The Advanced search option gives you more flexibility when you search. Note: you will have to click on the hamburger menu and select Advanced search to access this function.
Test your knowledge with the following interactive tutorial:
For advanced Google Scholar tips visit the Web searching page in the Library's Grey Literature and Other Sources guide.
Watch the videos below for more searching tips.
Databases are online collections of resources, including articles, papers, book chapters, reports, published and grey literature. Databases have advanced search options, helping to focus your search and find relevant and scholarly references quickly.
Databases can be discipline specific, such as medical, art, engineering or business databases, or multidisciplinary, covering all subject areas.
You can look through all the Creative databases available through the Library, or browse relevant sub-sections, including:
Art databases
For a complete list of art databases that the Library subscribes to, click on the databases tab located at the top of the Library Collection.
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Journals are publications similar to magazines. They have issues which are published regularly (e.g., monthly, quarterly, annually) and which focus on a particular subject. BrowZine allows you to explore and browse a range of journals on broad topics, such as Arts and Humanities, or specific subject areas, such as Film and Media or Fine Arts. Access via Library homepage > Journals.
You may also find the following guides and pages useful for finding resources:
Check out our full range of subject guides here.
Finding information about artists is crucial in visual arts, for many reasons including inspiration, contextualisation of your work and understanding of art movements.
Possible sources for material on artists include:
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UniSA Library holds a comprehensive selection of Australian and international contemporary art magazines and journals. While these magazines are not necessarily peer-reviewed, they do provide current, topical information such as exhibition reviews, artist interviews and artist profiles.
Many art books have been placed in the Special Collections rather than on the open shelves. They have been separated from the main collection for a variety of reasons. The books may be: rare, valuable, limited edition, fragile, or may be considered offensive.
These books are kept on Level 2 of the Jeffrey Smart Building. Items can be found in the Library Collection and identified by the prefix SP as part of the call number in the item record.
UniSA staff and students can access items in the collection by contacting Ask the Library.
The Library holds thousands of exhibition catalogues in the collection. For less well known artists, these catalogues may be one of the few sources of information available about their work. These can include:
To find exhibition catalogues, type exhibitions into the Library Collection and limit to 'Format: Books'.
You can combine the term with others, for example:
You can find exhibition catalogues in print on Level 3 of the Jeffrey Smart Building, City West campus.
For a complete list of art image databases that the library subscribes to, see the Art databases tab.
Why look for existing theses?
Have a look at the Library's Theses Guide. This guide will help you to search databases to find theses and find exemplars.
Sage Research Methods is a comprehensive online collection of resources which you can access through the Library. You can explore methodological concepts to help you design your research project, understand a particular research method or identify a new method, and write up your research.
While you are finding references, you need to think about whether they are appropriate to use in your assignment. You may be asked to use scholarly or peer-reviewed material to support your arguments. These can include journal articles, books, book chapters, reports, and other sources.
You should evaluate all resources before including them in your assignment - even if you found them through the Library Collection or in databases.
To find out more about academic references, look at the resources below:
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