Welcome

Hi. I'm Lyndall, your embedded librarian.  This guide has been created to help you with your research for BIO416. 

Each section introduces the steps you should take when researching for an assessment. You'll find links to videos and resources that will give you the tools to find great information. Use the activities to see what you need to revise.

If you would like an introduction to our Library website and services, check out the following video. 

Unpack your topic

A topic analysis will help you to clarify and understand what your assessment question is asking you to do.

Identify three key pieces of information in your assessment task by answering the following questions:

  1. What is the topic or concept that you need to research?
  2. Does your task place any limits? These might be "in the last X years", a geographical location or resource type etc.
  3. Which instruction word is used to indicate how to proceed with the task? 

EXAMPLE

Analyse how novel diseases are affecting Australian native species. Use peer-reviewed journal articles to corroborate your statements.

Instruction words Analyse
Key concepts native species
Qualifying words & phrases novel diseases, Australian, peer-reviewed journal articles

For guidance in topic analysis check out:

Brainstorm search terms

Keywords are the terms you'll search with to find relevant information in Primo Search and the library databases.

Start with the key concept words, then make a list of:

  • synonyms
  • spelling variations and
  • related terms or short phrases.

To find alternative search terms:

  • use a dictionary from Oxford Reference online to define your keywords and clarify your topic.
  • consider alternative spellings i.e. programme vs program.
  • review your search results for additional terms
  • note how your topic is described within the resources you read.
  • after running a search in Primo, review the terms under 'Topics' in the filter pane for alternative keywords, add them if they're appropriate. These terms will change as your search does.
     

EXAMPLE

Analyse how novel diseases are affecting Australian native species. Use peer-reviewed journal articles to corroborate your statements.

Keywords from the task Alternative terms
native species

consider colloquial and scientific names for the specific species or ecosystems

e.g. "Tiliqua rugosa" OR Shingleback OR  "Stumpy-tail* lizard"
novel  new, emerging
diseases

pathogen, virus, viral

Consider colloquial and scientific names for specific diseases
Australian Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Northern Territory, Tasmania

Note: Searches for Australia will yield results about South Australia, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. No need to add these as terms

Create a search strategy

When you search using Primo Search or a library database, use the keywords and limits you identified to create your search. Combine the keywords with "search operators", rather than searching with a whole sentence or question. Search operators tell Primo or the database how to search with your keywords.
 

EXAMPLE

Use Boolean Operators, phrase searching and parenthesis to combine search concepts.
Bilby AND "emerging disease"
"novel disease" AND "native species" AND
(Australia* OR "New South Wales" OR Queensland OR Victoria OR "Northern Territory" OR Tasmania)
("Myrtle Rust" OR "Austropuccinia psidii") AND "native species"

Remember: you will need to try a range of searches. Don't stop after just one.

Where to search

Primo Search

Primo Search is a good place to start as it allows you to use one search box to bring back results from most of our Library collection including books, eBooks, journal articles, newspaper articles and more.

You may get a large number of results and some of these will be from outside your subject/discipline area. Check the content is relevant to your assessment task before you use it

Library databases

Databases will help you find academic resources and are often subject-specific. You will get fewer results than Primo, but they will be more relevant to your subject/discipline. Journal databases are the best source of academic or scholarly information for your assessments. 

I recommend checking out the databases listed on the Environmental Studies & Outdoor Recreation database page. You can also check out Database Help if you need more assistance.

Websites

Evaluate

Using credible information will improve the quality of your assessment and may result in better marks, but how can you tell whether the resources you've found are credible and suitable for your assessment? Have you been asked to use peer reviewed, academic or refereed articles? Are you using authoritative websites?

The information below will help you evaluate the information you find, in books, journal articles, or online to make sure it’s reliable.

Referencing at Charles Sturt

The Referencing at Charles Sturt webpage has lots of helpful information about referencing.  The main referencing style at Charles Sturt University is APA 7th, however, for BIO416 you will be using the Biological Conservation referencing style. Citationsy has various examples for referencing a range of resource types in this style.

If you are using EndNote, you will need to download the Biological Conservation style.

Using EndNote you can:

  • record and manage the details of journals and books you have found in your research;
  • store and manage PDF copies of articles you have downloaded;
  • annotate and add notes to PDFs;
  • insert in-text citations and reference-list entries into essays.

Work through our Discover EndNote Modules to learn how to use EndNote.

Keen for more?

If you're interested in finding out more, check out the following: