Identify key words and concepts in your topic. e.g. "Does advertising encourage teenagers to take up smoking?" uses the keywords
advertising, teenagers, smoking, but you should also consider advertizing, adolescents, children, cigarettes.
Use dictionaries and thesaurii to clarify the meanings of keywords, and to find other ‘like’ terms or synonyms to use.
2. Find background information
Use encyclopaedias to find background or overview material on your topic.
The Library’s Reference Collection contains many useful general and subject specific dictionaries (e.g. The Oxford English Dictionary, The Dictionary of Philosophy) and encyclopaedias (e.g. Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopedia of Microbiology).
To locate a specific article (e.g. from a reading list) you need the citation details for the article (i.e. the author's name, article title, journal title, volume, issue and page numbers).
Many articles on your reading list will be in Electronic Course Materials. From the
catalogue you can search Electronic Course Materials & Reserve by Unit Name or Code, or Unit Coordinator to find articles for your unit.
If the article is not in Electronic Course Materials, search for the journal title in the catalogue. Journals held at Murdoch are listed in the catalogue, whether they are held in print, electronic format or both.
You can also use the Citation Linker to find out if an article is available online - enter as many details as you have.
Find articles on a topic.
To locate articles on a topic use databases.
The Library's databases can be indexes to article references, or full text collections of materials such as newspapers, journals, statistical publications, encyclopaedias and legal materials. You can search the databases for information relevant to your topic by using keywords or concepts.
If a database does not include full text material, look to see if the records in the database include an SFX
button, which will allow you to link from a citation to a list of services for that item.
If a database does not include SFX Findit buttons, look to see if there is a direct link to check the Library's catalogue for the journal title. If no such link exists, write down the details of the article and in a separate step search the Library catalogue for the journal title.
For further help in using the Library's databases (including SFX linking) please consult
Using Databases.
4. Evaluate your resources
Evaluate the information you have found in terms of relevance, currency, reliability and accuracy.
Check details such as author, publisher and publication year to assist you in your evaluation.
Keep a record of books, articles, printouts and photocopies used, making sure that your photocopies include the source details. This will save you substantial time when writing your assignment and reference list.
Consider using the EndNote software to organise your references in a database and create bibliographies automatically using your word processor. For further information see the Library's EndNote and
EndNote classes pages.
6. Cite your references
Documents are cited for the following reasons:
To acknowledge the work of other writers
To demonstrate the body of knowledge on which you have based your work
To enable other researchers to trace your sources
If you do not cite your sources, you may be unwittingly claiming authorship of ideas or statements not your own. This is plagiarism which is not tolerated in academic circles.
The most important aspect of citing is to use an acceptable format and be consistent.
The Library’s publication How to Cite References, discusses a variety of citation styles and provides examples for referencing.
button, which will allow you to link from a citation to a list of services for that item.