Library Guides: MHP314 Research Skills Guide: Use Journal Databases

Which Databases should I choose?

The Journal Articles page on the Mental Health and Indigenous Australian Studies Library Resource Guide provides a list of relevant journals and databases.

Visit the Indigenous AustralianStudies and Allied Health Journal Databases listing for all potentially useful databases in your area. Note that you don't have to use every database for every assignment - but nor should you restrict your search to one database only.

Don't forget, you can also use Primo Search and Google Scholar to locate journal articles.

Key databases for Mental Health and Indigenous Studies

Databases index peer review journals article, conference proceeding and book chapters. They can be multidisciplinary or subject specific. Library journal databases will either provide the full-text for an article or will link you through Primo to the full-text of the article.

Useful databases to search for Mental Health and Indigenous Studies include

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.
ProQuest Health and Medicine Databases This link opens in a new window
A package of ProQuest databases all with health-and-medicine-related material. You can also search these databases individually or in any combination. Includes MEDLINE (1946 - current) and Nursing and Allied Health Database.
This collection of databases is ProQuest's subject area package of 13 databases with health/medicine-related material. Some of these databases are the health-and-medicine subset of a larger database.

Most of these resources contain full-text material. But as with all ProQuest databases, where a record does not have the full-text available, you can use the Find it [at] CSU links to search for the full item elsewhere.

The main databases in this collection are:
* Consumer Health Database
* Health & Medical Collection
* Healthcare Administration Database
* MEDLINE (1946 - current)
* Nursing & Allied Health Database
* Psychology Database
* ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: Health & Medicine
* Public Health Database
* TOXLINE - does not include full-text material.

Once you are in the ProQuest platform, you can change to any other ProQuest database by clicking on the Change databases tab in the top menu. All ProQuest databases can be searched individually or in any combination.
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.
EBSCOhost (Health) This link opens in a new window
A package of eight EBSCOhost databases, all of which include Health-related material and a considerable amount of full-text content. Includes an important Dentistry database and an important Nursing and Allied Health database.
The databases are:

* Academic Search Complete;
* CINAHL Plus with Full Text;
* Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source;
* Health Business Fulltext Elite;
* Health Source: Consumer Edition;
* Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition;
* Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection;
* SocINDEX with Full Text.

All EBSCOhost databases can be searched individually or in any combination.

Journal database search strategies

When you go into a journal database you will notice that many of them feature multiple search boxes that are stacked one above the other in rows.

While they may look intimidating, they can make your search process easier.

Think of each row as a train of thought. For example, if you were searching for an article about the abuse of children in foster care, you could use a new row for each element of your topic. In this case you might search for:

1st search row: "foster care"
2nd search row: child* OR youth
3rd search row: abuse

You'll notice we have used some search tips in the search above. Check out the FIND page for a listing of these tips.

Tip: If you want to learn more about how to maximise your search using search strategies, contact the Library. We can assist you in creating an effective search strategy.

Searching in a database

Full text

Sometimes you will read that a database is 'full text', or that an article can be found in 'full text'. 'Full text' means that the entire document is available online. When a database carries an article in full text there will be a hyperlink to view it as either a PDF or html document. Not all journal databases contain full text.

If an article is not available in full text you may be able to locate it in another database. Clicking on the button will allow you to check if the article is available elsewhere.

Want to learn more about journal databases?

The Library holds a series of Online Library Workshops, some of these focus on journal database searching.
We also have a Databases Help guide that contains a wealth of information on using journal databases.