Finding credible sources for your essay
1. What you need to do
This assignment help will assist you to get started finding credible sources for the first part of your essay.
Apply the search skills learnt here to help you search for information for the other two parts of your essay.
2. What is a credible source?
Credible sources can include peer reviewed journal articles, books and documents (such as reports, papers and policies) from government websites and professional associations. Sometimes the term is used interchangeably with others such as peer reviewed, scholarly or academic sources.
Use the short guide or video below to find out more. This includes how to find and evaluate information to make sure it is credible.
- How to find peer reviewed journal articles (PDF - 273 KB)This resource discusses scholarly articles, peer reviewed articles, scholarly books and grey literature.
3. Plan your search
For the first part of the main discussion you need to address:
| What is the role of the health professional in implementing effective health education? |
Before you start searching:
- Identify the main concepts in your research question or topic.
- Think about how these concepts may be represented in the literature. In other words, do people use alternative terms to describe something?
Create a mind map or map out your concepts in a table to organise your ideas.
Here is an example. It uses the details provided in your course website for part 1 of your main discussion:
| Main concepts | Health professional |
Health education |
Communication processes | Well-being |
| Synonyms/ alternative concepts |
Health worker Health employee Community worker |
promotion intervention strategies education campaigns focus |
communication communicating oral communication verbal communication written communication non verbal communication communicating verbally |
wellbeing well being |
This table is not comprehensive, you may find more concepts as you begin to search.
For more help read:
- How to plan your search (PDF - 276KB)A short guide on steps you need to plan your search, including how to combine your search terms using OR, AND, NOT.
4. Where to search
The library has a range of search tools, such as databases, that can help you locate relevant literature. Many databases index a range of content such as peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters, reports and more.
Some key databases you could try are:
- Health Collection (via Informit)Covers health-related material from and about Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific and South East Asia. Focuses on nursing and allied health, with key subjects including public health, patient care, aged care, Aboriginal Australians, child welfare and family violence.
- Emcare (via Ovid)Key database for nursing and allied health, covering thousands of scholarly and peer reviewed journals from 1995 to the present. Publications are primarily European and North American. Records are indexed with Emtree thesaurus terms (same as Embase). Example subject coverage: nursing, critical and intensive care, nutrition, physiotherapy, public and occupational health, geriatrics and palliative care.
5. How to search
When you are ready use your search concepts to find information.
Here is a search example using Informit: Health databases:
- Start by selecting the Advanced Search option. Use the small red plus sign on the right to add search fields.
- Type a different concept into each box. Notice they are connected using AND.
Tip: you don't have to search on every concept. You can start with a few.
- Now add in any synonyms (alternative concepts). You can connect these with OR. Select Search.
Adding these will help broaden your search.
- Sort your results from Newest to Relevance (top of results list).
- You may want to consider limiting your search by date or publication type (top of results list).
| Searching Emcare: Tip: Apply your search in Emcare in a similar manner. Select the Multi-field search tab to see a similar screen. |
6. Other places to search
Key government websites
- Australian Government Department of HealthFederal Government Department site providing extensive health information and resources for the general public and health sector. Reports, government responses, procedures, strategies and more.
- My Aged CareFederal Government website relating to aged care information and services.
Professional bodies and policy databases
- APO (Analysis and Policy Observatory)APO is a not-for-profit, open access knowledge and evidence-based website for you to discover, share and manage public policy and practice resources. APO provides free access to a wide range of grey literature, data, journal articles and books, audio and video and online resources.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)Australia's national agency for health and welfare statistics and information.
- Australian Health Promotion AssociationAn association for the practice, policy, research, and study of health promotion.
- Public Health Association AustraliaAn association that provides a forum for the discussion of public health.
These are just a few, there may be others you can explore.
Remember you should also find your references from peer reviewed articles and scholarly books, not just government websites and professional bodies.
- Find government and organisation information (Health)Learn more about finding government and organisation information on this Library guide.
7. Top search tips
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If you have trouble finding results:
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| Take notice of sources your results are appearing in. Is there a relevant journal that appears that you could search within? |
| Use limits or filters in search tools (date range, source type) to narrow your search. |
| If you find a relevant journal article take notice of terminology used within the abstract or author supplied keywords. |
8. More help
- Study help: Writing essaysSEU's help page on writing academic essays.
- Referencing websiteResources on different referencing styles. Find examples of in-text citations and references for diverse formats including articles, books and book chapters, websites and more.
Note: Always check your Course Outline or LearnOnline site for the referencing style required for your course.
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| Contact: Ask the Library | Ask: the Study Help PALs | Use: Studiosity | Talk to: a Learning Adviser |