Welcome

Hi. I'm Sandra, your embedded librarian and I've created this guide to help you with your research for MHP114. 

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/ Key Concepts Synonyms or related terms
developmental stages growth, maturing, maturation, evolution
lifespan life, lifetime
personality theories attitude, way of thinking, behaviour, temperament, mental process
human person, human being, mortal, individual, man, woman, child
adolescence teen, youth, pubescence, puberty
health issues health problem, ill health, ailment, affliction

What are the instruction words for your task? Have you been asked to define or identify or discuss? The Common instruction words guide below may help. Does your task place any limits? E.g. recent, current or peer-reviewed sources. 

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:

  • "developmental stages" AND human AND Australia*
  • "developmental stages" AND human AND lifespan
  • "developmental stages" AND adolescen* AND "health issue*" AND Australia*
  • “developmental stages” AND (“adolescen* OR teen*) AND “health issue”

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

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 database:

 

The Allied Health and Indigenous Australian Studies lists have more databases you can search.

 

Learn how to search efficiently in Primo and Library databases:

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.

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.

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:

Keen for more?