Getting Started with Library Research

Before you begin to search for resources, you should spend some time analysing the assignment topic and considering what kind of information is needed to address the question. 

First underline the key words that or phrases that tell you the approach to take for your assignment. These words might be Topic words, task words or limiting words. 

Topic Words

Topic (or content) words tell you what subjects you will be focusing on in your assignment. Topic words will be used as keywords in your searching.

Task Words

Task (or direction) words tell you how to answer the question. Examples of tasks words might be : describe, define, analyse, compare and contrast. 

Limiting words

These words help put some constraints on the scope of your assignment and search. Limiting words may provide limits around time, place, or groups. Examples of limiting words may be : In the last 5 years, Australia, women under 50.   

Example 

Let's look at an example :

"Describe and critically reflect on the individual personal skills and capabilities necessary to develop the attributes expected of work ready graduates."

Topic words : personal skills, capabilities, work ready graduates

Task words : describe, critically reflect

Limiting words : individual, develop, expected

For further information look at this video on "Breaking down the assignment question".

Once you have a list of search terms, you can use them in conjunction with Boolean operators and other search commands to develop a search statement. 

Step 1 : Keyword Alternatives

First arrange your keywords into a table or mind map and brainstorm alternatives including : 

• synonyms (words that mean exactly or nearly the same),
• broader terms (the main subject area that your keywords belong in) and
• narrower terms (often specific examples of the concept).

Finding alternative terms for your keywords is important because authors often use different words to mean the same thing, e.g. one article might say university, and another might say college. Including alternative terms in your search means that you won't miss useful results.

Example : 

Step 2 : Formatting the words for searching

After you identify the key concepts you need to find information on, you can use these techniques to maximise the potential of each of the words and phrases:

Step 3 : Create a search statement

Keywords can be formatted and combined into searches using specific words and symbols. You can use these techniques to maximise the effectiveness of your searches and get better quality results.

Watch the "Developing a search strategy" video to see how you can use Boolean operators and search commands to target your search. 

These strategies can be used in Library Search and library databases. They can also be used in most search engines, e.g. Google.

Library Search allows you to search across all the Library’s print resources, as well as most of its online databases. 

The Library Search guide will show you how to perform searches in Library Search using your search statement.

It will also look at limiting search results and understanding a resource’s record.

Selecting the most appropriate databases is an important step in your research process.

The Library provides access to a number of research databases that aim to index a broad range of publications across each research / discipline area, and from many different publishers. You will need to search a number of databases to make sure that you've covered the topic fully.

1. Go to our Databases page for a full list of databases available through CQUniversity.
2. Use the left-hand menu to limit to a list of relevant databases:
   • Select your discipline area from the Study Areas drop down menu to get a list of databases relevant to your area of research.
   • Select Type of Resource to find lists of databases containing specific types of information like standards or statistics or images. 
3. Read the database descriptions to see what kind of information each database has and what the coverage is.
4. Choose the databases that have the type of information you need to answer your research question.
5. Click the database name in the search results to open the record for that database.
6. Click the database name under View Online to go to that database and start searching.

If your research spans multiple disciplines, you will need to look at the lists of databases for each of these disciplines, or try searching a multidisciplinary database. If you are researching nursing, for example, you will need the list of nursing databases, but you might also need the psychology databases depending on your research question.

Your lecturer or supervisor should also be able to recommend key databases for you to search. 

Now that you have found some relevant information, you will need to evaluate that information to ensure it is suitable for inclusion in your assignment or research project. 

Watch the "Evaluating information and resources" video to see how to evaluate a resource using five main criteria: authority, currency, relevance, objectivity and purpose.

Further information is also available on the Evaluating Resources page.

Google Scholar is a web search engine created by Google to locate academic and scholarly sources. The "Using Google Scholar" guide will show you how to set up Google Scholar to identify whether the resources it finds are held in full text at CQUniversity Library.