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Help finding quality sources for your report

Assignment Help video

This video will walk you through this assignment help and how to use it.

Interpret the report task

Read your assessment details carefully and highlight the:

  1. key concepts, the main ideas in the task you need to explore
  2. task words, these tell you what to do e.g. discuss, analyse etc.
  3. assessment parameters e.g. types of sources you need to find, how many, length etc.

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Plan your search strategy

Once you have identified the key concepts in your task, brainstorm alternative keywords or synonyms you could also search with.

Consider:

  • terminology in the course readings and website
  • your own knowledge of the topic area
  • doing some scoping searches in the Library collection

Getting a sense of how concepts are described in the literature is important as not all authors refer to ideas the same way.

A mind map or table can help you organise your ideas.

 Example table

Key concepts

Synonyms and alternative keywords

Human-centred design approach
  • Human centred design, Human centered design, HCD
  • Human centred engineering, Human centered engineering
  • Inclusive design
  • Design thinking - broader
  • Other keywords??
Connection to country
  • Country centred design, Country centered design
  • Key population: Aboriginal, Indigenous, First nations
  • Other keywords??
Next key concept?
  • Other keywords?

Tip: Besides synonyms consider, acronyms, plurals, word variations and different spellings.

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Develop your search strategy

Learn how to join keywords together to form a search.

Where to search

The Library has a range of search tools you can use to locate quality sources.

Getting started

I want to explore more

Key databases:

What is a quality source?

A source that is authoritative and credible. They are sometimes referred to as scholarly, academic or peer reviewed sources.

How to search

Access the Library collection search from the Library homepage.

Library Collection search example

This search looks for three different keywords. This means each result will include all three keywords.

screen shot of search example "human centered" engineering (Aboriginal OR Indigenous)

Quick search tips:

  • Use double quotes to find exact phrases e.g. “human centered”
  • Group synonyms together using brackets and the connector OR e.g. (Aboriginal OR Indigenous)
  • Substitute keywords in this search to find different results

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Searching a database

If you have difficulty finding relevant sources try searching a database. Databases help you find quality literature including journal articles.

Search example

Engineering Collection and Indigenous Collection

Search both databases together via the Informit platform.

Use the Advanced Search to add multiple search fields using the +.

Informit advanced image search example cultural or inclusive on first line, design on second line, aboriginal or indigenous or "first nation" on third line with AND between every search term

Search tips:

  • Put each different concept on a new line. Connect them with AND
  • Search for synonyms using OR
  • Find plurals or different word endings using the * symbol (truncation) e.g. cultural* finds cultural, culturally etc.
  • Add or change keywords to get different results
  • Limit results to Databases: Engineering collection only

Access instructions

  1. Open the Informit database, select the Resource available at link
  2. From the landing page select Change Databases (at top of page)screen shot of Informit change databases button
  3. Select Clear All under BROWSE BY TYPE
  4. Scroll down and select both databases under Full Text Databases
  5. Select USE SELECTED DATABASES

Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI tools and apps can assist you with brainstorming, understanding key concepts, helping to improve the clarity of your writing etc. However, before you use AI tools it is important to understand how to use these responsibly and ethically in academic study, including their limitations and risks, and when it is not appropriate to use AI.

Use the below guides to learn how to use AI ethically and responsibly:

AI apps and tools

Evaluating sources

It is important you evaluate all sources you want to use, even if you find them in the Library Collection or a database. Consider:

  1. Will this help me answer the assessment task? Is it relevant?
  2. Can I understand it?

Watch this video (3 min 15 sec) for more key things to consider.

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Test your knowledge

After going through this guide, take a moment to test your knowledge.

Select the key concepts in the following question. Please note this question differs slightly from your assignment task.

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