Library Guides: MHP112 Research Skills Guide : Develop your skills

Welcome

Hi. I'm Sandra, your embedded librarian and I've created this guide to help you with your research for MHP112.

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

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.

Hypothetical question:

Write an essay that discusses social and emotional wellbeing issues which have arisen in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander society since colonisation and how they have contributed to the current health status of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people.

Keywords	Synonyms or related terms
wellbeing	health, healthcare, welfare, social wellbeing, emotional wellbeing
wellbeing issues	social, emotional, cultural, spiritual
Indigenous	Aboriginal, Indigenous Australians, Torres Strait Islander
Australia	colonisation, New South Wales, Victoria, Northern Territory.....

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

Indigenous AND healthcare
Aborigin* AND (healthcare OR "health care")
"mental health" AND wellbeing AND (Aborigin* OR Indigenous OR “Torres Strait Islander”)
health care AND wellbeing AND (Aborigin* OR Indigenous OR “Torres Strait Islander”) AND Australia*

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:

Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
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)
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.
Indigenous Collection
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.

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!

Yatdjuligin by Best, O. & Fredericks, B.
Publication Date: 2021

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.

Watch: eBook etiquette

Reading, writing and referencing

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:

Getting started with EndNote

EndNote is a referencing tool that can be used to:

store and manage your references
store and annotate attached PDF files
add citations and
generate a list of references in Microsoft Word.

EndNote is available for students and staff to download, install and use whilst enrolled and/or working at Charles Sturt University.

Discover EndNote Modules
Start by completing the step by step modules that will assist you with setting up EndNote for the first time and using it.
Discover Endnote Online Library Workshop
After completing the modules you can also watch the Discover Endnote Online Library Workshop.
EndNote Library Resource Guide
This guide contains information about setting up and using EndNote, as well as links to manuals and additional support.

Keen for more?

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

Contact us

Last Updated: Apr 15, 2025 11:50 AM
URL: https://libguides.csu.edu.au/MHP112
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