Skip to Main Content Header

Library Orientation

Where to search

Knowing where to search is just as important as knowing how to search.  The following video will help you to understand why and when to use different search tools. Where to Search?

  • Not all search tools will give you access to the same information.
  • Understanding why and when to use different search tools will save you time.
  • Some types of specific information are best found using a search engine or specific website.
  • All resources need to be evaluated before using them.

Is this a scholarly source?
Scholarly or peer-reviewed articles are written by experts in academic or professional fields. They are excellent sources for finding out what has been studied or researched on a topic as well as to find bibliographies that point to other relevant sources of information.

 Finding Scholarly Articles
Look for publications from a professional organization. The following search databases give you access to many full-text academic resources:

  • ECA Library
  • Subscribed databases including ProQuest, Informit
  • Scholar.google.com
  • Microsoft Academic

When determining what sources to use, you must ask yourself a few questions

  • Does it contain references?
  • Is it detailed (multiple pages long)?
  • Does it have an argument or conclusion?
  • Is it original research (primary article)?
  • Is it peer reviewed?
  • Does the author have any qualifications?
  • Is subject specific language used?
  • Are graphics included to inform rather than entertain?

Scholarly articles checklist :

  • Are they written by researchers or scholars in the discipline?
  • Do they contain an abstract, which summarises key points?
  • Do they provide evidence of research findings?
  • Is there in-text citations and a reference list?
  • Are they written in a formal writing style and use specialised discipline terminology?
  • Is the article peer reviewed?

Scholarly books checklist :

  • Are references used?
  • Are they written in a formal style and use specialised discipline terminology?
  • Are they written by an expert in the field
  • Are they published by a well known academic publisher, for example by a university press?
  • Do they have an editor?

Grey literature checklist:

  • Who has written the information? Does it come from a reputable organisation (eg WHO or OECD) or author where their credentials are clear?
  • Is there evidence of research findings? Do other sources substantiate these findings?
  • Is there a reference list or bibliography?
  • Does it provide context or add value to your argument?
  • What purpose does the information have, who is the audience, is there obvious bias?
  • If the source contains statistics or other data how was it collected and for what purpose?

I Need nore help finding articles:

If you have tried to find articles but am not having any luck, complete the Finding Articles Worksheet below and send to library@eca.edu.au and the staff will try and find them for you.

 

Search Options

The Library Catalogue is a good place to start your search for scholarly material. You can use it to find eBooks, journal articles, reports, videos and more.

Using "Refine my results" menu to refine your search to find exactly what you need.

Databases are online collections of resources including articles, papers, book chapters and reports. Databases have advanced search options, helping to focus your search and find more relevant, scholarly references quickly.

What is a Research Database?

 

Internet

Database

Examples

Google, Wikipedia

Academic Search Complete, JSTOR, OVID, ScienceDirect

Authority/Credentials

Anyone can publish and anyone does. Difficult to verify credentials. Results are not always scholarly.

Authority/credentials are guaranteed. Most articles are scholarly and peer-reviewed.

Results

Thousands. Duplicates are not filtered out. Many are not scholarly.

Hundreds or fewer. Duplicates are filtered out. You can limit to full text.

Relevance

Lots of "noise" because there are no subject headings assigned. Information can be biased, untrue, or irrelevant.

Databases focus on specific subjects. Offer fewer but more relevant results. Results are from scholarly publishers and authors.

Limiters

Can limit by document type (pdf, doc) and source (gov, org, com)

Can limit by date, language, format, peer reviewed status, full text availability, and more.

Stability of information

Information from the Internet is unstable. It can disappear at any time. Researchers will often be asked to pay a fee to access journal articles. (Note: These articles are available to you via the Library as part of your tuition.)

Databases are a collection of articles that have appeared in journals. This makes their status more stable than the Internet. The information is paid for by subscription to be offered as part of a student’s tuition.

Google Scholar searches only within academic or scholarly sites, rather than the whole internet. Use Google Scholar to search for the articles that you want then copy the titles to the library catalogue search for best access to full-text references.

Visit Databases guide to teach you how to search Google Scholar, the Library catalogue and databases successfully.

It is important to be able to to distinguish between popular magazines and scholarly journals. Your educators will often ask you to use only scholarly journals in your project.

Popular magazines and scholarly journals are both types of periodicals, meaning they're published periodically, that is, in regularly recurring intervals. However, they have important differences:

  Popular Magazines Scholarly Journals
Examples National Geographic Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
Author Journalist; nonprofessional or layperson. Sometimes author is not named. Expert (scholar, professor, researcher, etc.) in field covered. Author is always named.
Credits Few or no notes or bibliographic references. Usually includes notes and/or bibliographic references.
Contents Current events; general interest. Research (methodology, theory) from the field.
Style Journalistic; easy to read. Uses technical language.
Audience General public. Scholars or researchers in the field.
Review Reviewed by editors employed by the magazine. Usually reviewed by peer scholars not employed by the journal.
Appearance   Glossy; many pictures in color. Plain; mostly text; sometimes includes black and white figures, tables, graphs, and/or charts.
Length Shorter articles; provide broader overviews of topics. Longer articles; provide in-depth analysis of topics.
Ads Many, often in color. Few or none; if any, usually for books or other professional materials.
Frequency Usually weekly or monthly. Usually monthly or quarterly.

Final step

While you are finding references, you need to think about whether they are appropriate to use in your assignment.  You may be asked to use Scholarly or Peer Reviewed material to support your arguments. 

You should evaluate all resources  before including them in your assignment - even if you found them through the Library Catalogue or Databases.

Currency How current does the information need to be? Do you need to use information published in the last five years or are older, seminal works fine to use?
Relevance Does the information found answer your question? Do you understand the content and is it at the right level for your purpose?
Authority What are the author's qualifications? Are they linked to a particular organisation such as a university, research institute or government department
Accuracy Is evidence given for the research undertaken? Can you verify the information presented by using other sources? Is there a bibliography or references given?
Purpose Is it trying to communicate research, persuade you or sell you something? It is expressing an opinion, or is it balanced and objective?
footer