Where you search will be informed by:
| What you are trying to find out? | The parameters of your research question and what types of studies can best answer it |
| What is your time frame? | How much time you have will determine how comprehensively you search |
You may need to search for both published literature and unpublished (grey) literature.
Watch this video to understand key places to search (2 min 31 sec):
| Type of resource | What it is |
| Primary |
First hand accounts. Examples: original research articles that give results of a study by the researcher, letters, interviews, personal journals, laboratory logs, statistics, survey results, raw data, legislation and case law. Start with: Library databases, data repositories, archives and Trove from the National Library of Australia. |
| Secondary |
Second hand accounts of information which provide background information or summarise, interpret and explain results of original research . Start with: Library databases, Library catalogue and Government websites |
| Tertiary |
Compiles and summarises information from primary and secondary sources to introduce the current state of a topic. Some tertiary sources are also considered secondary sources and vice versa. Examples: encyclopedias, almanacs, path finders, systematic reviews, case studies and bibliographies. Start with: Library catalogue |
Databases are organised collections of published and grey literature. They can include publications such as journal articles, book chapters, reports and conference papers, and consist of full text publications, bibliographic records only (containing the descriptive information, such as title, authors, and abstract) or a mixture of both.
Databases can be discipline specific, such as medical, art, engineering or business databases, or multidisciplinary, covering all subject areas.
Below are two largest citation databases that may be useful places to search.
"Grey literature is recognized as a key source of evidence, argument, innovation, and understanding in many disciplines including science, engineering, health, social sciences, education, the arts and humanities" — Pisa declaration on policy development for grey literature resources
In summary, it:
For approaches use the:
Database records and thesauri of subject headings contain terms that reflect language and attitudes of the authors and period in which publications were written. Some terms are outdated, offensive, and inappropriate.
Explore more possible places to search using these guides.