Hi. I'm Toby, your embedded librarian and I've created this guide to help you with your research for EMG100. 

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:

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:

*You also need to identify keywords and brainstorm alternative terms relevant to your emergency event.

For guidance in topic analysis 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.

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 Emergency Management, Policing & Public Safety databases list has more databases you can search.

Learn how to search efficiently in Primo and Library databases:

Web Resources

The Internet is a great place to locate background information and additional resources outside of scholarly publications. Learn some tips and tricks you can implement to make the most out of Google Search and improve the relevance and quality of your results:

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:

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:

• "emergency management" AND "emergency preparedness" 
• "emergency preparedness" AND (education OR training)
• emergency AND (response OR "response plan*)

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

To understand how search operators work check out:

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

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: