Research Project: Print resources

Start here to search the catalogue and find books, Clickview digital videos and websites at Renmark High School Library.

Choose Author, Title or Series searches if you have accurate details relating to specific resource, otherwise choose Subject or Keyword. A Subject search will check the Subject headings attached to a record, a Keyword search (or a Quick search using the Renmark Public Library Catalogue) will search the word or phrase in the author, title, series, notes and subject fields of a record.

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Renmark Public Library

The Library has joined the 'one card' system. Click here to find out how this enables you to locate and request items for yourself from the SA Public network catalogue.

Search Strategy:

This is a strategy often used by experienced researchers :

• Begin with a keyword search. Use one or two keywords that describe your topic. Choose general keywords to begin this process.

• Examine your results list to find one resource that seems to match your topic.

• Display the full record (by clicking on the title of the resource) and look closely at the subject headings.

• Click on the subject heading (s) that best matches your topic and you'll be taken to other resources on that exact subject.

This strategy helps eliminate 'false hits' or search results that have nothing to do with what your really looking for.

Encyclopedias

• Encyclopaedias are a useful starting point when beginning your research.

• They provide a general overview of a topic, and may also provide a list of books and journal articles for further reading.

• Published once.
  

Books

• Tend to have a broad and in-depth coverage of a topic.

• Longer lag between an event or discovery and a book's publication so there can be more information (causes, longterm effects), deeper analysis and a broad coverage of the topic.

• More cumlative coverage of a topic

• Longer usually 80 plus pages.

• Published once although revised editions might come out later.

Journals (Scholarly), Magazines and Newspapers

• Maybe indepth usually on a specific topic.

• Cover recent developments and events with little time lapse and as a result information is current but maybe incomplete, it captures what is happening in the topic at the moment of time,

• Journals contain original research and typically focus on one experiment; newspapers and magazines may refer to research studies, but do not contain original research.

• Limited coverage without much historical overview or context.

• Shorter in length.

• Composed of volumes and issues published regularly.

Fifteen new Issues in Society are purchased by the library every year and each contain up-to-date, diverse information about global social issues. They include previously published information sourced from newspapers, magazines, journals, government reports, surveys, websites and lobby group literature. They explore a range of facts and opinions which gives a concise overview of the topic.

If you want to check out the titles the library has, search the library catalogue using a series search and type in issues society. A list of over 190 titles come up. To find the most recent use Sort by and choose publication year and these will come to the top. Recent titles are available as both a print and digital edition. The digital edition is identifiable by this icon and to access it click on the title and in the bottom left hand side of the screen click on Download E-File to download it. You can save it and use it for your research OR you can borrow the print edition.

OR

You may have an issue in mind and using fast find (the default search is title, subject, keyword and author) a title may come up in your search results. Scan the list for any titles edited by Justin Healey which will be part of the Issues in Society series. Make sure you check the publication date to get the most up-to-date information from the library shelves.