Assignment help |
Before you begin, it is strongly recommended that you:
Planning your search is key to getting the most out of your search results. The following video will help you get started.
Video Length: 2:26
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The rest of this page will outline the key steps for planning your search as discussed in this video: identify keywords, consider alternative keywords, connect your keywords as well as understand assignment types and copyright.
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Typing your question into Google or the Library Catalogue is not the best way to search.
Mapping out your search can be a good place to start:
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Now you've identified the keywords in your assignment question, try doing the following to help you understand your keywords and find similar or alternative keywords:
Use the course readings, an encyclopedia, dictionary or reliable websites to understand your topic
Use a thesaurus to help you find similar or alternative keywords
Do some basic initial searching using the keywords you've already identified to see what other words are used in the papers you find. Create a mindmap or table to help you brainstorm alternative keywords
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Once you have identified your keywords and found alternative keywords, you need to connect these to put your search together.
Use the following operator words, which most search tools will have, to indicate how you want the tool to search for your keywords:
Remember to use "quotation marks" to keep phrases together and (brackets) to keep synonyms together.
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The Library Catalogue is a good place to start your search for scholarly material. You can use it to find eBooks, journal articles, reports, videos and more.
Using "Refine my results" menu to refine your search to find exactly what you need.
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Practice using the Library catalogue with our interactive tutorial (15.00)
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Databases are online collections of resources including articles, papers, book chapters and reports. Databases have advanced search options, helping to focus your search and find more relevant, scholarly references quickly.
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Google Scholar searches only within academic or scholarly sites, rather than the whole internet. By accessing Google Scholar from within the library website, you will be able to link directly to articles that the library has access to by clicking on the Full-text at UniSA link. Use the Google Scholar link from the Library website for best access to full-text references.
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Practice using Google Scholar with our interactive tutorial (10.00)
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Visit this Library online resource to teach you how to search Google Scholar, the Library catalogue and databases successfully.
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Referencing is how you acknowledge or provide evidence of other people's work in your academic writing.
Learn more by watching Managing Your References.
Video Length: 1:55
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Use a bibliographic management software to store, organise and cite your references. The Library supports the bibliographic management tool EndNote, although there are many free systems available.
More information on EndNote can be found in the EndNote guide.
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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.
You should evaluate all resources before including them in your assignment - even if you found them through the Library Catalogue or Databases.
Video Length: 3:16
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Currency | How current does the information need to be? Do you need to use information published in the last five years or are older, seminal works fine to use? |
Relevance | Does the information found answer your question? Do you understand the content and is it at the right level for your purpose? |
Authority | What are the author's qualifications? Are they linked to a particular organisation such as a university, research institute or government department |
Accuracy | Is evidence given for the research undertaken? Can you verify the information presented by using other sources? Is there a bibliography or references given? |
Purpose | Is it trying to communicate research, persuade you or sell you something? It is expressing an opinion, or is it balanced and objective? |
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