Library Guides: Indigenous Australian Studies: Library resources

Choosing the best resources for your assessment

When searching for resources about First Nations Peoples and topics to use in your studies, the following decision tree can be helpful to ensure you are using appropriately authored resources with relevant content:

"IKAT Decision Tree" by Indigenous Archives Collective; Faulkhead, S; Thorpe, K; Sentance, N; Booker, L; & R. Barrowcliffe is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

Text description of decision tree

Is the resource appropriate?

What is the content of your resource? Does it use outdated or racist terminology? Is it a contemporary source, or could it be? Does the source contain content that was collected without informed consent? Does the source centre Indigenous ways of being, doing and knowing?

Who authored your resource? Is the author Indigenous, or is it partnership research supported by community? Does the author cite Indigenous authors? Are there Indigenous authors in the field that you could cite instead? What is the authors relationship to the knowledge?

Once you’ve answered these questions, ask yourself do you still want to use this resource?

If no, consider using a resource that is Indigenous authored and preferences first-person lived experience.

If yes, and the resource has problematic use of Indigenous knowledge, refer to the Indigenous knowledges referencing guide (PDF) for help.

A great resource is one that attributes Indigenous knowledge, is Indigenous authored, and preferences first-person lived experience.

Library databases

AustLII This link opens in a new window
A free Australian resource providing internet access to primary and secondary legal materials.
AustLII the Australasian Legal Information Institute - is a joint facility of the UTS and the UNSW Faculties of Law. It provides free internet access to Australasian legal materials, and claims to be one of the largest sources of legal materials on the Net, with millions of searchable documents.

AustLII publishes public legal information, including primary legal materials (legislation, treaties and decisions of courts and tribunals, and case law); and secondary legal materials created by public bodies for purposes of public access (for example, law reform and royal commission reports). There is also a substantial collection of law journals.

It includes extensive links to other Australasian and international legal resources on the Internet.
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet This link opens in a new window
An online resource that collects, collates and interprets evidence-based knowledge on Australian Indigenous health.
This resource enables people to readily find out where resources are available, to share ideas on what health interventions work, and discuss how best practice health care can be provided.

The website has a number of component parts including:

* a comprehensive overview of Indigenous health;
* a list of publications on Indigenous health;
* a quarterly peer-reviewed journal (The Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin);
* information on a range of specific health topics, and on health systems;
* noticeboards (job advertisements and conference notices).

The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet also provides a number of "yarning places" (communities of practice) where people with an interest in Australian Indigenous health can share information, knowledge, and experience.

You can search the entire HealthInfoNet using the search button in the red bar at the top of the page. You can also go to the Overview or the Bibliography, or use the navigation bar or the A-Z Index (A-Z Topics) to find the topic you are looking for.

The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet is produced by an organisation of the same name, a research centre at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. The resource was established in 1997 and was originally known as the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Clearinghouse.
Indigenous Collection This link opens in a new window
An Informit database of entirely full-text material from journals, books, conference proceedings, and reports, covering all aspects of Indigenous Studies. The link here will take you the Informit platform with Indigenous Collection selected.
Informit describes this database as a single platform for Indigenous worldviews which brings together a range of international Indigenous research resources, from Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, North America, and The Pacific.

Content is sourced from peak professional bodies including Aboriginal Studies Press, African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific, Australian Archaeological Association, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit , Fiji Institute of Applied Studies, Center of World Indigenous Studies, University of Waikato, Polynesian Society, Pacific Recourses for Education and Learning, Ateneo de Manila University Press, and the Association for the Publication of Indonesian and Malaysian Studies.

Key journals include:
* Aboriginal History;
* Australian Aboriginal Studies;
* AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples;
* Australian Indigenous Law Review;
* Australian Journal of Indigenous Education;
* He Puna Korero: Journal of Maori and Pacific Development; and
* The Journal of the Polynesian Society.

Your searching from this link will be within the Indigenous Collection only. You can change the database(s) you are searching using the Change Databases button. Unless you have changed databases, you will continue to search in Indigenous Collection. When you have run a search, your results list will include, at the top, which database(s) you have searched in.

You can use Basic Search or Advanced Search. Advanced Search offers more options for searching, and more limiters. When you have run a search, there are further options for filtering your results. For searching help, there is a useful set of Search Tips at the bottom of the Advanced Search Screen.

Warning: There is the possibility that some records contained in this database may contain references to deceased people, sacred or secret material, inappropriate terminology or offensive language, which, though unintentional, may cause distress to some people.
Lit Search This link opens in a new window
A free search tool that provides access to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health literature from the PubMed database.
This resource is actually a search filter for the otherwise huge PubMed database. It is one of a number of search filters developed by Flinders Filters at Flinders University.

There are 3 ways in which Lit Search can be used:
1. Select all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health (you can refine this option by entering keywords, filter options, and publication dates); OR
2. Select one of the 27 topics (you can refine this option by entering keywords, filter options, and publication dates); OR
3. Go straight to the Keywords search box and create your own topic search within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

Features of Lit Search include:
* It is an "evidence based" search;
* It was developed with experts in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health including health providers, researchers and academics;
* It can assist both experienced and inexperienced searchers;
* It maximises relevant results and minimises irrelevant items;
* It saves time by providing a pre-written search;
* It increases the likelihood of retrieving quality retrievals;
* It is always up-to-date as it provides real time searches in PubMed.

See all Indigenous Studies databases.

Need some help with understanding how to use Library databases? See our Database Help Guide.

eBook collections

ACLS Humanities E-Book (HEB) This link opens in a new window
ACLS Humanities E-Book (HEB) is a not-for-profit online collection of nearly 4,700 eBooks in the humanities. These are presented by the American Council of Learned Societies in collaboration with more than 30 learned societies, and other publishers.
Specific topics covered include: area studies; history; archaeology; art & architectural history; performance, film & media studies; folklore; religion; musicology; political science; literary criticism; sociology; and bibliographical studies.

You can browse this collection by author, title, or subject. There are also various search options including Basic Search, Boolean Search, Proximity Search, and Bibliographic Search.

You can view these books online, or download 10-page excerpts. You may print only for personal research purposes. It is best to print using the PDF viewing option, and you can download or print 10 pages at a time.

You can also access book reviews from major journals.

There is no limit on concurrent users.
Oxford Academic - Books This link opens in a new window
Previously available as Oxford Scholarship Online eBooks, this is the eBooks collection within Oxford Academic. Charles Sturt has access to approximately 2000 eBooks across a range of subjects, with unlimited user access.
In Oxford Academic - Books you can search using basic or advanced search, or browse the journals by subject area. The top-level subject areas are:
• Arts & Humanities
• Law
• Medicine & Health
• Science & Mathematics
• Social Sciences.

You can filter your results by various criteria, including availability, format, subject, and publication date.

Charles Sturt does not have full-text access to all content on the site. In results lists, availability is designated by icons: full-text availability is indicated by a green Unlocked (Purchased) icon, a green Free icon, or an Open Access icon. Items that are NOT available to Charles Sturt users are marked with a blue Get access label. You can filter results by availability.

The search box gives you the option to search across the whole of Oxford Academic or the Journals collection. You can also access these at Oxford Academic and Oxford Academic - Journals.
ProQuest eBook Central This link opens in a new window
A huge and constantly growing multidisciplinary collection of eBooks. This collection is the Library’s largest collection of eBooks, and covers many of the subjects taught at Charles Sturt.
There are sometimes restrictions on the use of these eBooks. With high-demand items where there is a limit on concurrent users, we recommend that you find and download what you need and then close off the book/browser window to free up the licence for someone else. For a demonstration of how to do this, please see the Library’s short eBooks etiquette video. There are usually limitations on how much you can download and copy, but these should reset after 24 hours.

Some books are available for full download. If you wish to download a ProQuest eBook Central eBook to your computer, you need the free software Adobe Digital Editions. To download to a device, you need a free app: Bluefire Reader or Aldiko Book Reader (for android only).

For help with using this collection, see the ProQuest Ebook Central page in the Library’s eBooks guide. It includes a link to ProQuest’s own guide on the collection, and has embedded videos from ProQuest on the online reader and on downloads.

See more tips on finding and using eBooks.

Video collections

Informit EduTV This link opens in a new window
An Australian Informit database of streaming videos from free-to-air and pay-TV, selected for tertiary institutions. The link here will take you to the Informit platform with EduTV selected.
Lecturers and students can find and instantly watch Australian television content.

Features of this database include:
* Instant streaming access to more than 10,000 programs via computer, tablet, or smartphone;
* Archive of programs from 2006, with up to 80 new programs added weekly;
* Content which includes documentaries, drama, series, and more from both free-to-air and pay-TV;
* Study guides and articles to complement the programs.

Your searching from this link will be within the EduTV database only. You can change the database(s) you are searching using the Change Databases button. Unless you have changed databases, you will continue to search in EduTV. When you have run a search, your results list will include, at the top, which database(s) you have searched in.

You can use Simple Search or Advanced Search. Advanced Search offers more options for searching, and more limiters. When you have run a search, there are further options for filtering your results. For searching help, there is a useful set of Search Tips at the bottom of the Advanced Search Screen.

National Indigenous Television (NITV)
Watch this SBS channel made by, for and about First Nations peoples to discover the issues that matter the most to First Nations peoples, and view a rich diversity of cultures, languages and talent.

TVNews This link opens in a new window
An Informit database of Australian free-to-air television news, current affairs, and (selected) documentary programs, available as digitised video. The link here will take you to the Informit platform with TVNews selected.
This database provides video from television news and current affairs programs, and selected documentaries, from the Australian free-to-air networks. All individual stories from a particular broadcast are indexed and have detailed summaries. TVNews is updated daily, with stories from an evening news broadcast generally being available the next morning.

The video for each story or documentary is available in WMV format as a progressive download, allowing viewing to begin before the total video file is transferred. Items range in duration from less than 30 seconds for short news stories, to more than 60 minutes for selected documentaries. Transcripts are NOT included.

Your searching from this link will be within the TVNews database only. You can change the database(s) you are searching using the Change Databases button. Unless you have changed databases, you will continue to search in TVNews. When you have run a search, your results list will include, at the top, which database(s) you have searched in.

You can use Simple Search or Advanced Search. Advanced Search offers more options for searching, and more limiters. When you have run a search, there are further options for filtering your results. For searching help, there is a useful set of Search Tips at the bottom of the Advanced Search Screen.

Coverage is from August 2007- present.

Information for researchers

Since the National Apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008, literature and research outputs by First Nations authors has achieved increasing commercial and critical success. If you're looking for research by First Nations authors, browse these websites containing literature, research, and researchers:

Referencing First Nations knowledges

For general help with referencing and in-text citations at Charles Sturt, please refer to the tools on the Referencing page of the student portal. For information on referencing First Nations Knowledges, take a look at the CAVAL Indigenous Knowledges Citation Guide, or seek help from the Academic Skills team.

If you are looking for advice about how to use culturally appropriate and respectful language when writing with, for, or about First Nations peoples, check out the Australian Government Style Manual section for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This section of the style manual provides guidance on topics such as:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity
Using respectful language
Naming protocols
Recognition of continuous culture and connections
Consultation

Library

Indigenous Australian Studies

Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias

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