Hi. I'm Sandra, your embedded librarian and I've created this guide to help you with your research for NUT201. 

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 page to see what you need to revise.

Some of the skills on this page may be familiar to you from previous subjects. Read over the content below to refresh your skills, and if you're feeling confident in your searching ability take a look at the Extend your skills page for advanced search tips.

The examples below are drawing from your Assessment task 2 description, however the skills and strategies can apply to any assessment where you need to demonstrate research skills and source relevant literature.

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.

An example assessment question could be to discuss strategies to improve Australia's food environment, one of which is: A mandatory ban of food advertising targeting children and adolescents via media such as television, streaming and social media.

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 Exercise and Sports Sciences list has more databases you can search.

Learn how to search efficiently in Primo and Library databases:

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.

Below are some basic searches that use Boolean operators, phrase searching, truncation and/or grouping. Combining these techniques together is called a search string or strategy.

The Academic Skills team can help you to build your writing, referencing and reading skills to be successful at Charles Sturt University.

Explore resources from the Academic Skills team in the Learning Skills section of the Student Portal.

Here are some pages to get you started:

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