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Research Toolkit: Introduction to Research

Quick Links

Research Skills

Having trouble with your Research? Click on the graphic below to get some help and guidance with any of  the steps in the Research Process.

Research Help

The world of information is like a house, full of rooms containing knowledge. Google will get you onto the front porch of that house, and maybe it will get you in through the front door. But it will allow you only a peek down the hall and up the stairs. The scholarly conversation—the network of research, discussion, and publication which you need to start tapping into happens in scholarly journals, databases, print resources and authoritative web resources.

Many students begin their research using Wikipedia. Although Wikipedia may be useful in providing a general overview of a topic—helping you to get your bearings, be certain of facts, or define some basic terms—it is not scholarly and anyone change it. But check out the references at the bottom which have been used by the author to create the article and use these to find more credible sources. 

There are many resources and tools available online and in the library to help with your assignments. Use the links in this Research Guide to explore them.

The research tools and sources you use will vary
depending on your research focus.

Library Catalogue

The library catalogue provides access to print and digital resources including websites, links to databases, clickview videos, ebooks and PDFs on a range of topics. Use Fast Find to begin your search and if you require up-to-date information put your mouse over Sort by and sort your search results by publication year.

You can also get a reference or citation for the resources you use from your search results. Tick the box for the resource/s (the box on top of the amazon logo) and put your mouse over List. Choose view citation (Harvard) and you can either print or copy and paste the references into your own document. This will save you using the Online Referencing Generator for these resources.

The library catalogue is NOT available outside of the school network YET

Beyond Google and Wikipedia

The world of information is like a house, full of rooms containing knowledge. Google will get you onto the front porch of that house, and maybe it will get you in through the front door. But it will allow you only a peek down the hall and up the stairs. The scholarly conversation—the network of research, discussion, and publication which you need to start tapping into happens in scholarly journals, databases, print resources and authoritative web resources.

Many students begin their research using Wikipedia. Although Wikipedia may be useful in providing a general overview of a topic—helping you to get your bearings, be certain of facts, or define some basic terms—it is not scholarly. You will need to find academic sources for your research, since the scholarly conversation is not taking place on Wikipedia.