Finding Information

Your Unit Information Guide (UIG) will have a list of Recommended reference materials. You can find your UIG under Unit Documents in your unit's Learning Site (Blackboard). You can also access any readings your lecturer has stored on the eReadings site. You can find the link to eReadings on the Learning Site.

Below is an example list of recommended reference materials. Your list may contain reference details for books, journal articles, websites and book chapters. The items are usually listed alphabetically by author. You need to be able to identify the parts of a reference, so that you can search the Library and find the item.

The Library OneSearch catalogue shows what is in the library: books, ebooks, journal titles, CDs, DVDs/videos; and where you can find them, the OneSearch interface also provides links to full-text journal articles. Links to the catalogue can be found under Online Resources on the Library website home page and under the Library menu on MySCU. You may search the catalogue for a specific title or for a range of books on a subject.

To find a specific title
Sign in using the link at the top right of the OneSearch page. Type the book title in quotation marks into the search box, and click the Search button. Books with those words in the title will be listed with their location and availability, so that you can find them on the shelf (on-campus students), or request them for loan (off-campus students).

To find a range of books on a subject
Type some keywords on the topic into the search box and click the Search button. Books that match these keywords will be listed with their location and availability for loan.

When you know the article details

If you are given article details - journal title, author, article title, volume, issue and page numbers (such as in your recommended reference materials list), you can search the OneSearch catalogue which will give you a link to the article in a database. The steps below show how you would search for the following article:

Baxter, J. 2002, 'Patterns of change and stability in the gender division of household labour in Australia, 1986-1997', Journal of Sociology, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 399-424.

• Go to the OneSearch catalogue
• Type the exact article title inside "quotation marks"
• Click the search button
• Click the blue online resource link underneath the results
• Click the red go button next to the database that holds your article
• This will open the database, click on the PDF link on the page to download the full text.

When you need articles on a topic
You might need to find a number of articles to answer your assignment, and you don't know what journal they might come from. Start your search in a database. Your lecturer might suggest some databases to you (in class or in your UIG), or you could check the subject lists on the Library Databases page.

Finding a suggested database

• Go to your mySCU page
• Click the myServices tab at the top right
• Click on Databases in the Library module
• Click the letter of the database you need, and then follow the link. Eg click on "P" for ProQuest or type the database name in the search box

Using your subject guide to find relevant databases

• Go to your mySCU page
• Click the myServices tab at the top right
• Click on Subject Guides in the Library module
• Choose your subject area
• Look for a Find journal articles link either on its own tab or under the How Do I? tab

Searching a database

• identify the assignment keywords
• think of synonyms or alternate words
• type your keywords into the search boxes
• choose which field to search within, such as the abstract, author or subject
• to narrow or decrease your results combine keywords with AND
• to widen or increase your results combine keywords with OR
• apply limits such as a date range or scholarly articles only

Downloading/saving your search results

• Sometimes you will be able to download the full-text of your article – look for a text icon/link or PDF icon/link
• If the database does not provide full text, it will offer to find the full-text. Click the Find Full Text icon that appears, which will search other databases for a full text copy, or it will search the Library catalogue for a print subscription to the journal
• You can usually mark the references you have found and then email, download or export (into a program like EndNote) the citations to help you make your reference list or bibliography. This varies in each database. Look for an Add to Folder icon, or a checkbox that adds to a Marked Folder (usually at the top of the screen)

When selecting journal articles consider the following:

• does your assignment require peer reviewed or scholarly journal articles?
• reading the abstract or summary for relevance to your assignment
• the author and their qualifications
• when was the article published? Is this relevant for your assignment?

There is a great deal of very useful information contained on websites. The Web, however, is uncontrolled and unfiltered so it is important to evaluate any content you intend to use in an assignment to ensure its reliability and relevancy.

Google and Wikipedia may be useful starting points for finding information on the Web. Be aware that Wikipedia articles are written by people who may or may not be experts in the field, the entries can be inaccurate and/or biased. They can, however, be used as a source of further reading and may provide links to websites that are more suitable for citing in assignments.

Use the criteria below to evaluate information you find on the Web.

Authority

• Can you identify an author/publisher – individual or corporate?
• Is there information about the author? Contact details, qualifications, links to organisations?
• What are the author's qualifications for writing about a particular subject? Can these be verified?
• Does the author acknowledge the sources of the information provided?
• If it is an organisation, are its values/goals made clear? Is it a commercial, educational, governmental site or a personal one?

Accuracy

• Does the information appear correct and reliable – does it tie in with other information on the topic?
• Are conclusions drawn based soundly on the evidence presented?
• Are references provided for evidence presented, can they be verified?
• Are there any spelling or grammatical mistakes?

Currency

• Can you tell when the information was created and last updated?
• Is the information up to date?
• If the information is not recent, is it still valid for the topic?
• Are the links active? Inactive links may indicate the information is not up to date.

Coverage

• Is the information relevant to your assignment?
• Does the information cover the time period, geographical area and level of detail you need?
• Have you tried other information resources such as the Library catalogue and journal article databases?

Objectivity

• Does the information offer a balanced view?
• Is there any evidence of bias, e.g. is the language used inflammatory or emotive?
• Is the information fact or opinion?
• How can I use the information to support my arguments?
• Are there links to other documents?
• Is the information supported by other sources?
• Is there advertising on the page, or corporate sponsorship?

Clarity

• Is the information legible, well-organised and clearly presented?
• Are points in the text appropriately illustrated with graphs, images etc?

Further website evaluation resources

Website evaluation, Southern Cross University Library
Wikipedia founder discourages academic use of his creation, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 12 June, 2006
Evaluating web pages: techniques to apply and questions to ask, University of California Berkeley Library
Evaluating information on the web, Flinders University Library
Why can't I just use Google?, La Trobe University Library

Start with Recommended reference materials

• Find the list of recommended reference materials in your UIG
• Locate the eReadings site
• Recognise book, book chapter, journal article and website references

Find books using the Library catalogue

• Know how to access the catalogue
• Know how to find a book in the catalogue by its title
• Know how to search the catalogue for books using keywords

Find journals and articles using the Library catalogue and databases

• Know how to find an article with known details
• Know how to search for journal articles using keywords
• Know how to select relevant databases for searching
• Know how to print/download/save articles

Evaluate websites for reliability

• Be aware of criteria for evaluating websites
• Recognise importance of evaluating websites

Download checklist