Welcome
Hi. I'm Tracie, your embedded librarian. This guide has been created to help you with your research for FIN516.
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. Check your assessment task details in your Subject Outline.
With an understanding of your task you then need to plan how you will search for information. This starts with identifying and brainstorming keywords.
From your assessment task:
Keywords | Synonyms or related terms |
ESG | environment, social, governance, socially responsible investment |
corporate |
business, commercial, organisational, organizational |
Does your task place any limits? These might be "in the last 5 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 database:
- Accounting, Tax and Banking Collection This link opens in a new windowA ProQuest database that includes thousands of publications, with much available in full-text. It covers "current news and topics, as well as the trends and history influencing important accounting and tax issues".
- ProQuest Business Databases This link opens in a new windowA package of ProQuest databases all with business-, economics-, and management-related material. These databases can also be searched individually or in any combination.
The Accounting, Economics & Finance and Business, Management, Marketing & WHS lists will have more databases you can search.
Learn how to search efficiently in Primo and Library databases:
Other Sources
For your assessment you may also like to have a look at the following information:
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 potential search strings could include:
- (ESG OR environmental OR social OR governance) AND ("corporate performance" OR organisation* performance)
- qualitative finance AND (corporate OR organisation* performance)
- "financial returns" AND shareholders AND performance
Remember: you will need to try a range of searches. Don't stop after just one.
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.
- Corporate finance (13th ed.) byPublication Date: 2022
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.
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