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Science Honours: Where to search?

Subject databases - Why?

By this stage of your studies you will have discovered the wealth of scholarly information to be found in the Library's subject databases. Some of the advantages of using these (over Googling for example) are:

  • They contain mainly scholarly, or academic, studies which are suitable for you to reference
  • They often concentrate in a specialised area of study, so your results will be relevant
  • They have sophisticated search tools that allow you to hone your search effectively

Of course, searching in Google, or Google Scholar is quicker and easier, but if you learn to navigate the subject databases in your area you will reap the rewards, retrieving a smaller set of highly relevant, scholarly results.

In addition to subject databases, you might find using citation databases such as Scopus useful. And depending on the depth and subject matter of your research, it's worth considering some authoritative grey literature.

Check out our A-Z Databases list for a complete rundown of recommended databases in your discipline area.  Be prepared to go outside your discipline area as well, depending on your research question. For example, if you are studying the educational aspects of nursing studies, check out an education database, such as ERIC. If you are researching the psychological effects of working as a paramedic, do some searching in a psychology database, such as PsycINFO.  For Australian studies, check Informit Online.

Citation Databases

Citation databases offer an alternative way of searching, and can be very useful to find some extra studies. You can use citation databases to trace how a particular area of research has developed over time, which authors have had impact in the topic, or to delve into a rabbit hole of who has cited a paper and what references they themselves have used.

Here are some useful ways to use citation databases:

  • If you find a good article in your subject searching but think it may be a little old, pop the title into a citation database and find some newer articles on the topic by clicking on those who have cited that article. 
  • Use the citation database to check the reference lists of good articles. Reference lists are usually hyperlinked, which makes it easier to check individual citations. Any open access articles will link to the full text.
  • If you find a really good article in a citation database you think you should have found in your subject database, you can use it to test your search strategy. Why didn't you find it before? What keywords or subjects did it include that you didn't put into your search?

Charles Sturt University subscribes to two citation databases Scopus and Web of Science and you find out more about them by looking at the Citation database webpage and the Searching In Scopus page of this guide.

Grey literature

Depending on the depth of your research, and the type of information published (or not published) on your topic, you may need to include Grey Literature in your literature review.

Grey literature is “information produced by all levels of government, academics, business and industry in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing”. (GreyNet) and it includes such useful information as Clinical Practice Guidelines, Clinical Trials, Government and organisational reports, policy documents and theses.

The Library's Grey Literature guide gives a good rundown on finding and evaluating grey literature. Especially look at the specific discipline resources listed.

This is one area where it could be useful to do a Google search. But be sure to use Advanced Search to narrow your search to appropriate domains (such as .gov.au), file types, exact phrases and so on.

Grey Literature and credible health websites

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