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Find credible sources for your report

Understanding the task

Before you start searching read the assignment instructions and marking criteria carefully.

Read the report case study

Highlight the:

  1. key concepts (main ideas) - what you need to find out (search on)
  2. task words - what you need to do (e.g. discuss, analyse, examine)
  3. assessment parameters e.g. what types of information you can use (e.g. academic, industry, government information)

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Keywords

Once you have identified the key concepts (main ideas) note down other ways these may be expressed in the literature.

Key tips

  • try some scoping searches in the Library collection
  • draw on your own knowledge and course readings
  • consider synonyms, common acronyms, plurals, word variations and different spellings

A mind map or table can help you organise keywords.

Example table - adapt as required

Key concepts human factors failure add next key concept

Alternative keywords

human factor
psychological factor/s
etc...

failures
accident/s
air crash/es
fatal crash
Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System
MCAS
etc...

list keywords

Help forming your search strategy

Find industry information

A key source will be the official accident investigation reports. To find these search using Google or another internet search engine.

Search example

Google search for Ethiopian 737 max accident investigation report

Top tips

  • Adapt your search as you find more e.g. add flight numbers
  • Investigate relevant websites to see if they link to official reports
  • Use double quotes to find exact phrases e.g. "737 MAX"

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The Library Collection

The Library Collection can be a good place to start your search and find further relevant keywords.

Search example

  1. Type each different keyword into the search box
    • Tip: Quotations find exact phrases e.g. "human factors"

Library Collection search for "human factors" aviation safety

  1. Broaden your search by adding in synonyms using OR
    • Tip: Brackets () group synonyms together

Library Collection search for "human factors" (aviation OR aircraft) safety

Some useful filters (limits)

  • Publication date - find recent literature
  • Peer reviewed articles - to help you find quality articles
  • Books - to find scholarly books
How to start your search (opens in a new tab)

Searching Scopus

Searching Scopus example

  1. Use +Add new search field to add more rows
  2. Add a different concept (keyword) in each search field. Notice these are connected with AND.

Tips: Use the * symbol (truncation) to easily find plurals and different word endings

Scopus advanced search for "human factor*" AND pilot* AND aviation

  1. Add any synonyms or alternative concepts using the connector OR. Select search.

Scopus advanced search for "human factors" OR "human error*" OR psycholog* (line 1) AND pilot* OR "flight crew*" (line 2) AND aviation OR aircraft OR airline* (line 3)

Using limits

Narrow your search further by using the limits (filters) available from the results page. The Source Title limit will help you identify top journals appearing.

Searching PsycINFO

Select the multifield search option to search in a similar way to Scopus.

Searching in practice

Watch this video (10 min 57 sec) for a demonstration of searching Scopus.

Please note that the layout of the guide has changed since this video was recorded. The guide on finding scholarly sources can now be found at the link below:

Evaluating your sources

Evaluate all literature - even if you have found it in the Library collection or databases.

Consider the following

Currency How current does the information need to be?
Are older, seminal works fine to use?
Relevance

Does the information found answer your question?
Do you understand the content?
Is it at the right level for your purpose?

Authority What are the author's qualifications?
Are they linked to a university, research institute or government department?
Accuracy Is evidence given for the research undertaken?
What methods are used? Are they sound?
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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