Welcome
Hi! I'm Jess, your embedded librarian and I've created this guide to help you with your research for EML102.
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 what topic you are seeking information for, this is called topic analysis. We are going to look at the question:
Computers have had a significant impact on education in the 21st century. Discuss the changes they have made.
With an understanding of your task you then need to plan how you will search for information. Let's starts with identifying and brainstorming keywords.
From your assessment task:
Keywords | Synonyms or related terms |
Computer | technology, laptop, tablet, device |
21st Century | twenty first century, millennial, modern, contemporary |
Education | teaching, school, learning, training |
Does your task place any limits? These might be "in the last X years" or Australian content.
For guidance in topic analysis check out:
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.
Search Operator | Example |
Use AND to retrieve results that contain both of your search terms. | teacher AND educator |
Use OR to retrieve results that contain any or all of your search terms. | 21st century OR twenty first century |
Using NOT to exclude irrelevant results. | secondary NOT tertiary |
Combine terms with parentheses to create complex searches. | (tertiary OR university) AND education |
Use quotation marks to search for a phrase | "digital literacies" |
Search for terms with different word endings using an asterisk. | manag* = manage, managed, managing, management |
A question mark can be used to replace a single letter within a word. | analy?e = analyse, analyze |
Note that the terms AND OR and NOT are sometimes referred to as Boolean Operators, using quotation marks is called a phrase search, and using the asterisk is called truncation.
Remember: you will need to try a range of searches. Don't stop after just one.
These search tips can help you to find more relevant results in Primo Search and many other library databases. If these tips don't work in the database you are using check their help section for their set of symbols.
For your assessment topic potential search strings could include:
To understand how search operators work 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:
- A+ Education This link opens in a new window
An Australian Informit database of citations, article summaries, and full-text articles covering all aspects of education, particularly Australian education. The link here will take you to the Informit platform with A+ Education selected.
- EBSCOhost (Education) This link opens in a new windowA package of five EBSCOhost databases, all of which include Education-related material and a considerable amount of full-text content. Includes the important education database, ERIC.
- ProQuest Education Database This link opens in a new windowA ProQuest database of around 900 journals, including more than 600 in full-text. This database can, and probably should, be used in conjunction with ERIC (ProQuest version).
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.
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.
- The little penguin handbook: Australasian edition byPublication Date: 2014eBook
3 concurrent users only
eBook etiquette
Keen for more?
If you're interested in finding out more, check out the following:
Contact us
- Call: 1800 275 278
- Online chat
- Email us
- Book an appointment