Hi. I'm Sandra, your embedded librarian and I've created this guide to help you with your research for ASC148. 

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.

• Watch: Online Library 101

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. Using these keywords, you are able to develop a search strategy to help find specific information about your topic.

A hypothetical assessment question could be:

From your assessment task:

Does your task place any limits? These might be "in the last X years" or Australian content.

For guidance in topic analysis check out:

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:

• horse AND train
• horse AND "evolutionary history" AND use
• horse* AND evolution AND domestication
• horse* AND domestication AND (train OR use)

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

To understand how search operators work check out:

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.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar allows you to locate resources such as articles, theses and books.

Unlike Primo Search, which is set to search the Library's holdings only, Google Scholar searches beyond Charles Sturt University Library and will include resources that are not available to you.

Set up Library links to access the Library's online resources using these instructions.

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 databases:

The Animal & Veterinary Sciences and Agriculture & Wine Sciences lists have more databases you can search.

Learn how to search efficiently in Primo and Library databases:

The Academic Skills team help you build your writing, referencing and reading skills to be successful at Uni.

Check out their support and resources under Learning Skills in the Student Portal.

Here are some pages to get you started:

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

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.