Peer-reviewed journal articles are the best source of academic, scholarly information. For assessment items 2 and 3, you have been asked to avoid using references that have not been peer-reviewed, such as blogs and unofficial websites.
However, depending on the topic of your research, you may find you need to look to other sources. While resources such as government reports, conference proceedings, textbooks, policy documents, and theses are not peer-reviewed journal articles, they may well have a place in your research - and, when based on published research, can be considered academic and scholarly.
The information below will help you find, and understand, such alternate resources.
Grey literature refers to scholarly works and research that have not been commercially published. Grey literature is generally not subject to peer review however, it can often be a good source of up to date information. Alternatively, it can provide a valuable historical link to how things were done in the past.
Examples of grey literature include:
To find grey literature you can search:
For some assessment tasks you may need to access news items, newspaper articles, or documentaries. These resources can give you insight into public or political opinion and are useful for social historical views on some subjects.
Whilst you will be able to find some news articles in Primo Search, the best place to find news articles is in the Library's News & Current Affairs databases and some recommendations are listed below.
Google can also be used to find news articles published by local newspapers use the tips on the right to improve your searches.
Remember not to limit yourself to just using Google; try using the news databases and Google. The Library's databases include articles available only via subscription, which Google won't find.
The Internet is a great place to locate background information and additional resources outside of scholarly publications.
There are some tips and tricks you can implement to make the most out of Google Search and improve the relevance and quality of your results. These strategies are slightly different to those offered in Primo Search and journal databases.
While Google Search does offer an Advanced Search, which you might like to use, you can use these strategies within the basic search box to provide you with the same control.
| Search for an exact phrase or match |
Put your search terms in quotation marks "international trade" |
| Exclude a word from your search |
Put a dash - before any word you want to exclude customs -culture |
| Search within a range of numbers |
Use two periods .. between the numbers to return results within that range "international trade" 2013..2018 |
| Search within a website |
Use site: to search within a particular web address or to limit your results to a domain type site:.abs.gov.au site:.edu |
| Limit by geographical area or time frame | Use the Google Tools drop down options to limit to Australia results and/or select a timeframe for your results |
Watch the video below to see even more tips in action:
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