Welcome

This guide has been created to help you with your research for EMG505/506. 

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 on the test your knowledge tab to see what you need to revise.

Getting started with your assessment

The first thing is to make sure you clearly understand the task and your topic.  Think about what you are seeking information for; this is called topic analysis. Check your assessment task details in your Subject Outline for the details.

With an understanding of your task you then need to plan how you will search for information. Think about your research topic and start identifying and brainstorming keywords.

From your assessment task:

Keywords Synonyms or related terms
Bushfire fire, forest fire, grass fire
Research study, analysis, exploration, investigation

Does your research place any limits? These might be "in the last 10 years" or Australian content.

For guidance in topic analysis check out:

Choose the right place to search

Before you start searching, think about what types of information you need and where you can search to find those types of resources.

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. 

I recommend trying the following databases:

The following lists have more databases you can search:

Learn or refresh yourself on how to search efficiently in Primo and Library databases:

Other Sources

You may like to use these resources to build your knowledge for these assessments:

Create a search strategy

When you search using Primo Search or a library database use the keywords and limits you identified above 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.

For your assessment topic think about your key words and add them into search strings some examples are:

  • criminal fraud AND (AI OR artificial intelligence)
  • "stranger danger" AND assault
  • "blue collar crime" AND (company OR industry) AND Australia

Remember: you will need to try a range of searches. Don't stop after just one. If the first one doesn't work, use some of the other key words you have come up with.

To understand how search operators work check out:

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.

Keen for more?

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

Reading, writing and referencing

The Academic Skills team can help you to build your writing, referencing and reading skills to be successful at Charles Sturt.

Explore resources from the Academic Skills team in the Learning Skills section of the Student Portal.

Here are some pages to get you started:

Your textbook

Good news!

Your textbook is available online through the library!

However access to your textbook is limited. Follow the best practice in the video below to ensure you have access to what you need without disadvantaging other students in your subject.

EMG505

EMG506

Using AI

Have you been asked to use Generative AI Tools (GAITs) in your assessment? Or are you thinking of using GAITs for research and study? 

Make sure you are aware of the risks associated with using GAITs:

  • Academic integrity
  • Plagiarism
  • Inaccurate content
  • Intellectual property
  • Privacy concerns.

For more information see:

Microsoft Copilot

You have access to Microsoft Copilot's secure enterprise version while studying at Charles Sturt. This means your data is protected when using the secure version of Copilot via a student account, hence your data isn't retained or used for training the genAI. To find out how to access, head over to Charles Sturt's Microsoft Copilot page.