What is research?

One of the definitions of research is "the quest for knowledge, data, or truth". Whether you are looking for information for a short tutorial paper or conducting a literature search for your thesis, you are still engaged in a "quest".

This Web site suggests a plan to guide your "quests". However, research is seldom as linear as it appears from this plan. It can be both iterative, i.e. involving some repetition of the steps as you refine your searches; and lateral, as you move away to follow different streams of research. This is why your research will nearly always take longer than you expect!

The research process

How to begin

Find background information

Find statistics

Find journal and newspaper articles

Using Library databases to find journal articles (online tutorial) 

Find information on the Internet

Evaluate what you find

Cite what you find

How to begin

Determine your search strategy by identifying the main concepts or keywords in your topic or question. For example, if your topic is

the keywords are the most specific words or concepts i.e.

how much information you need, e.g. are you writing a major essay or a thesis, or preparing for a short tutorial presentation?

the type and format, e.g. research papers, case studies, clinical reports, statistics, journal articles, information from the Internet

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Find background information

Dictionaries, encyclopaedias and books

Subject dictionaries and encyclopaedias contain definitions and alternative terms you could use to find more information. Books often report or summarise previous research and give you the names of prominent scholars in your subject area. Encyclopaedia articles and books often include bibliographies, i.e. lists of references to other books, articles etc on the subject.

Find statistics

You may need to find statistical information to substantiate your research.

On Level B, the Library houses a separate collection of statistical publications produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Librarians at the Research Assistance Desk can help you to locate material in this collection.

For other statistical information, see the Subject Guide on Mathematics & Statistics.

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Find journal articles

What Are Journals?

Journals are publications issued on a regular basis, eg: weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Other names for journals are serials, periodicals and magazines.

The UC Library catalogue includes records for all the print journals that we receive. Many journals are now available electronically  - check the E-journals and Newspapers page.

What is a refereed (peer reviewed) journal?

Why use journals?

Use journals to find:

• More current information, eg: reports on recent research
• Information that is more focussed on your particular topic, i.e. more specific information

The Library subscribes to many, but not all journals and the Catalogue does not include information on the articles within journals.

Using Library databases to find journal articles

To find some journal articles on your subject, you will need to use one or more electronic journal indexes (databases). These databases:

• May be subject-specific or multidisciplinary (covering a broad range of topics)
• Can be searched by subject, author etc 
• May be Australian or international in their coverage
• Contain citations, eg: the article author, title and the name of the source journal. They will often include an abstract, i.e. a summary of the article content
• Sometimes contain the full text of journal articles

It's possible to search across more than one database at a time by using UCanSearch.

Use the online tutorial to learn more about using the Library databases to find journal articles.

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Find information on the Internet

Searching the Web

• A good place to start is our Subject Guides page. You can select a broad subject area or listing by Schools to find links to relevant Web resources, subject gateways etc
• Use a Web search engine such as Google or Google Scholar 
• Type in a URL to go directly to a known Web site

Evaluate What You Find

Evaluating the information you find is a vital part of the research process. Check our Guide to evaluating information sources.

Cite What You Find

To 'cite' what you find means to acknowledge your information sources, i.e. someone else's intellectual effort. Check our Referencing Guides (covering print and electronic resources).

The University has a site license for the bibliographic tool EndNote. EndNote allows you to organise your bibliographic citations. It is particularly useful for students undertaking large research projects, or for compiling bibliographies attached to theses. For more information, see the EndNote Home Page.

RefWorks is a web-based bibliographic management too which also allows management and formatting of bibliographies. Consult the RefWorks home page for more details and information about training sessions.

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Content Responsibility: Louise.Cooper@canberra.edu.au