Library Guides: IKC100 Research Skills Guide: Develop your skills

Welcome

This guide was created to help you with your research for IKC100 Indigenous Australian Health.

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.

If you would like an introduction to our Library website and services check out:

Online Library 101

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.

For Assessment 2, you are to develop a mock conference proceeding which focuses on improving health outcomes for Indigenous Australians. You will do this, in part by analysing the influence of 'racial science' and deficit paradigms in the history and practice of Australian health systems, as well as investigate how social determinants of health impact Indigenous Australians.

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 the following keywords and synonyms can be pulled.

Keywords	Synonyms or related terms
Indigenous	Aboriginal, Indigenous Australian, Torres Strait Islander, First Nations
Social determinants	economic status, risk factors, social status, education
Racial science	racial discrimination, scientific racism, racialism
health	well-being, energy, fitness, strength

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.

For your assessment topic potential search strings could include:

"social determinants" AND (Indigenous OR Aboriginal OR "Torres Strait Islander"
OR "First Nation") AND (health or well-being)
"racial science" AND (institution OR system) AND health AND (Indigenous OR Aboriginal OR "Torres Strait Islander"
OR "First Nation")

Remember: you will need to try a range of searches. Don't stop after just one.

To understand how search operators work, visit the pages on the links below:

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.

Start your search with the following databases:

Indigenous Collection
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.
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
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.

The Indigenous Australian Studies list has more databases you can search.

Learn how to search efficiently in Primo and Library databases:

Writing and finding conferences

Attending and giving presentations at conferences can help you get to know the latest developments in your field. It can also help you put your work out there, make yourself known and connect with people who work in your field.

There are a number of resources available to assist in writing conferences and papers, and these can be discovered by searching in Primo Search:

writing AND healthcare AND (conference OR publication)

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 University.

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

Here are some pages to get you started:

Using AI

Generative AI tools can be helpful study companions — they can support your thinking, help you explore new ideas, and guide you toward useful resources.

You might use Gen AI to:

Generate topic ideas or refine research questions
Clarify tricky terms or complex concepts
Suggest useful sources or recommend databases
Improve your keywords or search strategies

Important: Always check your subject outline to see if using AI tools is permitted. Using AI without permission could breach academic integrity rules.

Think of AI as a starting point — a way to support your research, not replace your critical thinking or use of credible academic sources.

See more on AI:

Your guide to generative Artificial Intelligence
Charles Sturt University AI use guidelines.
Generative AI at university
Tips on how to use AI for study and research.

Keen for more?

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

Last Updated: Sep 3, 2025 7:52 PM
URL: https://libguides.csu.edu.au/IKC100
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Subjects: Indigenous Australian Studies

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