Media Arts & Design: INFT 1014: Introduction to Digital Media

Assignment Help

1. What you need to do

This assignment help will assist you with the annotated bibliography section of your Creative Journal assessment. 

For this part of the assessment, you need to find at least three scholarly sources (as defined in your assignment brief) and three promotional videos. 

Remember to always read the course outline and course website for the full assessment instructions and marking criteria. 

2. Understand your task

   What is an annotated bibliography?
An annotated bibliography is a summary of sources (e.g. journal articles, books or book chapters) addressing a research topic.

Each source is listed as a separate entry including:

  • Full reference information
  • Short summary of the main ideas in the text
  • Brief critical evaluation/critique of the text

3. Plan your search

  Identify keywords

Taking time to plan your search will save you time and help you find information more efficiently.

  1.  Identify the main concepts/keywords in your research question
  2.  Think of any relevant synonyms (similar concepts) for each concept
  3.  Connect your concepts together using boolean (AND and OR) to form a search

A table or mindmap can be a useful strategy for doing this. 

For example, if you are researching youth homelessness in Australia, you might identify the following main concepts and relevant synonyms:

Concept 1
youth

Concept 2
homelessness

Concept 3
Australia

young people
young person
teenager, teen
adolescent, adolescence

homeless
unstable housing
unstable accommodation

Australian                       

Tip: As you search you may find more alternative words to include in searches.

Watch the Plan your search video

   Connect your keywords

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:

  • OR: Combines similar keywords
  • AND: Combines different keywords
  • NOT: Excludes words from the search (use cautiously and only when necessary or you might exclude results you actually want)

Remember to use "quotation marks" to keep phrases together.

For example:

youth AND homelessness AND Australia

(youth OR adolescent) AND homelessness AND Australia

youth AND "unstable accommodation" AND Australia
 

   Test your knowledge

3. Start your search

   Where should you search?

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 minutes 14 seconds

  • Not all search tools will give you access to the same information.
  • Understanding why and when to use different search tools will save you time.
  • The Library Collection:
    • is a good place to search for scholarly material.
    • provides free access to a variety of resources types across a range of subject areas.
  • Databases:
    • help focus your search and have more advanced searching options.
  • Google Scholar:
    • provides access to a wide range of resources, but not all of it is scholarly. 
    • use the Google Scholar link from the Library website for best access to full-text references.
  • Some types of specific information are best found using a search engine or specific website.
  • All resources need to be evaluated before using them.

Select the options below to learn more about different places to search.

Library Collection is a good place to start your search for scholarly material. You can use it to find eBooks, journal articles, reports, videos and more.

Quick tips to get you started:

  • Try a topic search e.g. "young people" homelessness
  • Use the filters under 'Refine my Results' to find exactly what you need.
    • Narrow by Format type: Book or Articles or Media
    • Find scholarly journal articles by selecting: Show Only > Peer-reviewed journals
    • Narrow your search by a Date range
 

Want to know more?

Watch this short video about using the Library Collection  (1:48)
Practise using the library collection with our Interactive Tutorial  (15 min.)
Browse Library journals by topic using BrowZine  
Digital free icon by Eucalyp, source: flaticon.com  Digital Media Databases

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.

Find videos

Find scholarly sources

 

Want to know more?

Read: How to Save Time Searching Databases (PDF)

Google Scholar searches only within academic or scholarly sites, rather than the whole internet. You will be able to link directly to articles that the library has access to by clicking on the Full-text at UniSA link. Search Google Scholar directly from the Library homepage for best access to full-text references.

 

Want to know more?

Visit the library's Searching for your Literature Review Guide for videos and tips.
Practise using Google Scholar with our Interactive Tutorial (10 min.)
   Evaluate your sources

It is important to evaluate the information you find. Watch this short video (3:17) and, for more information, view the Evaluate page.

4. Put it all together

   Write and reference

Check out the video below to learn how to put an annotated bibliography together.

Use the UniSA Study Help links below to help you write and reference your assignment:

Want to know more?