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12 Aboriginal Studies: Home

Selecting your keywords

What keywords do you want to search?

Not all authors use the same terms when they write; one author can refer to a concept by one word, whilst another uses another word. For example, an article may use the phrase "climate change" while another has "global warming" instead.

To ensure you don't miss sources that use different terminology, think about synonymsrelated terms and key concepts that link to your keywords. 

Different combinations of words will get you different results, so try a variety of searches.

Your search relies on the level of detail that databases provide in a record, and sometimes very minimal detail is given. Also, the library might simply not have resources that are that specific in nature.

For example, there might not be a book just on fast food advertising in 1951, but there might be a book on advertising in the 1950s that could be useful.

Boolean cheat sheet

Conde Library databases

The following databases all need to be accessed through the Conde Library databases page. These cannot be accessed any other way as we subscribe to these. If you click on the following links, you will be taken to the main database page, you can then select which database you wish to use.

Other Library Databases

ClickView

ClickView is the College's collection of audio visual material, including great documentaries. Once you have decided on a topic, it would be worth having a look through the thousands of titles available on ClickView and seeing if there are any relevant documentaries that will assist with your research.

Research Skills | University of Sydney

Assess Your Source

UW-Stout Robert S. Swanson Library and Learning Center (2020)

How to Read Journal Articles

This video gives you an overview of the major components of a research journal article.

How to read a journal article. 1. Abstract. The abstract is the summary of the article. 2. Conclusion. The conclusion tells you what  the paper found/is arguing, compares it to other research in the area, and describes how it can be used in the real world. 3. First paragraph of the Introduction. The author will often outline what they're going to talk about. This can help you find info most useful to you. 4. First sentence of each paragraph. Reading the topic sentences in the introduction tells you what the paragraph will be about so you can decide if you want to read it or not. 5. Rest of the article. You can read through the rest, now that you know what it's talking about

How to read a journal article infographic. Inspired by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign