Welcome

Hi. I'm Sarah, your embedded librarian and I've created this guide to help you with your research for ITC506. 

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 a topic analysis. Check your assessment task details in your Subject Outline.

Assessment item 3 has two related tasks: an argument visualisation and a report based on this visualisation. 

For this Assessment you will need to integrate research in the following areas:

  1. your chosen media article/case study;
  2. the ethical issues involved with this media article/case study; and
  3. the classical ethical theories explored in your textbook.

With an understanding of your task you then need to plan how you will search for information. This starts with identifying and brainstorming keywords.

The keywords and related terms below should get you started.  Once you choose your topic, you can continue brainstorming and adding to the list.

Keywords Synonyms or related terms

ethics

values, principles, integrity, moral philosophy, responsibility, code of conduct...

ICT professionalism

respectability, integrity, reputability, propriety, accountability, professional conduct...

privacy

confidentiality, protection, right to privacy, the Privacy Act, surveillance...

security

safeguard, guarantee, defence, protection, cybersecurity; antivirus, virtual private network, VPN...

cyber-crime

computer security, forensic computing, hacking, phishing, ransomware, fraud...

intellectual property

IP, copyright, patent, trade secret, intellectual property rights, IPRS, domain, infringement, misappropriation...

regulation on the internet

legal regulation, market regulation, platform regulation, platform monopoly, policy, legislation...

social inclusion

digital inclusion, social capital, social displacement, social opportunities, capability approach...

community and identity

community engagement, cultural identity, social identity, virtual communities...

pervasive and convergent computing

technology convergence, ubiquitous computing, integration, smartphone, internet of things, IOT, human computer interaction, HCI...

virtue ethics

character, integrity, moral motivation, fairness, justice, truth, charity…

deontological ethics

duty, science, obligation, promise-keeping, agent-relative moral theory, human rights…

social contract

contractarianism, government, society, civil society, enforcement, cooperation...

utilitarianism

act-utilitarianism, consequentialism, happiness, welfarism, agent-neutral moral theory...

Think about whether your task places any limits. These might be "in the last X years" or Australian content.

For guidance in topic analysis 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 IT, Computing & Mathematics databases list has more recommended databases you can search within.

Learn how to search efficiently in Primo and Library databases:

Grey literature

In addition to searching for academic literature (such as peer-reviewed articles) for Assessment 3, it is likely you will also wish to search within grey literature.  Grey literature is a term which encompasses sources such as media articles, government reports, websites, standards, clinical trials and more.  For more information, 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:

  • ethics AND (technology OR ICT)
  • Apple AND (privacy OR security) AND "data protection"
  • (AI OR artificial intelligence) AND "pervasive computing" AND ethics

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

To understand how search operators work check out:

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, and other eBooks relevant to your subject, are available online through the library!

However access to eBooks can be 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.

Classical ethical theories

Your report for Assessment 3 asks that you analyse an ethical issue, applying the classical ethical theories. So, what are they? 

These links to Britannica Academic are a great starting point:

Search skills demonstration

Watch this video for an overview of the library services and how to search for information.

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: