Need help starting your research?
Like assistance with writing your thesis? PhD, Masters and Professional Doctorate by research students can access a range of services and resources
Why look for existing theses?
Have a look at our Theses Library Guide
This guide will help you to search databases to find theses, find exemplars and share your thesis through the UniSA Research.
Research methods are the techniques, processes, system or procedure followed where data or information is created and then analysed. It is essentially the way you collect your data for your thesis.
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.
This short (approx 2 mins) video from the Steely Library at Northern Kentucky University provides a quick introduction to literature reviews.
For help completing your literature review please see the following links:
Davies, KS 2011, 'Formulating the evidence based practice question: a review of the frameworks', Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, vol. 6, no. 2, p. 75.
Developing a Research Question (Academic Skills, University of Melbourne)
A range of standardised frameworks have been developed to assist in developing focused, answerable questions which can be easily broken down into searchable components for more relevant results.
Examples of framing the question are available on the Systematic Reviews Library Guide.
Some of the key search tools for Psychology:
Key multidisciplinary databases
Subject headings (also known as descriptors) are the most specific terms available from a set list (or thesaurus) to describe the themes of a publication. An indexer assigns these terms and you can then use them in searching.
Not all databases have a thesaurus. Where they do, however, this can be used as an alternative to or in combination with keyword searching to both increase the relevance of your search and ensure that you are finding material on that theme regardless of the terminology used by the author.
Tips for searching databases
Use limits to refine your search
Your selection criteria/parameters will determine any limits you will apply when searching, e.g. age range, male/female, English/other languages, and/or type of study.
The limits available vary across databases. You will need to adapt your search strategy to each database (e.g. search for study types as a separate search string, rather than selecting these from a refinement option).
Capture your search strategy
Most database, including Medline and Google Scholar, have a Search History function.
This enables you to view all of the searches that you have performed in a search session (including any limits applied), edit and re-run searches, variously combine searches and save searches for future reference. Copy or export your search history to demonstrate the search strategy used for your review
Help searching PsycINFO and OvidSP
Help searching ProQuest
Video Length: 5 minutes 13 seconds
Keep up to date by setting up alerts, reading reviews and following social media.
The Academic Writer Tutorial: Basics of Seventh Edition APA Style provides an introduction to the seventh edition APA style and is designed for writers new to the style.