Research Skills: Finding Information on the Australian Sugar Industry
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Outline of Session
1. Research Skills: 5 stages2. Search for information on the Sugar Industry:
From library resources - books From a library database - Australia NZ Reference Centre From Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) From the Web - Google Advanced Search
3. Evaluate your information4. Reference your information5. Student exercises
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1.Analyse question or topic
Research Cycle:
5 Stages
2.Identify
keywords &search terms
WriteFinal
Essay/Report
4.Evaluate your
information5.
Reference yourinformation
3.Search for
& find information
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STAGE 1: ANALYSE QUESTION
OR TOPIC
Stage 1: Analyse question or topic
• When you are given an assignment, read through it carefully. Before you start looking for information, be sure you understand what you are looking for.
• Analyse the topic to determine the approach being asked for. Are you being asked to: Compare? Discuss? Outline? Contrast? Summarise? Explain?
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Consider the following:
• How is it to be presented – report format or essay format?
• What are the assessment requirements – how many words?
• How many and what type of resources are to be used?
• How current does the information need to be?© Central Institute of Technology 2014
STAGE 2: IDENTIFY KEYWORDS
& SEARCH TERMS
Stage 2: Identify keywords & search terms
Australian Sugar Industry
agriculture
canegrowers
harvesting
Queenslandsugarcane
statistics
confectionery industry
CSR sugar NSW
export market, domestic use
history sustainability
sugar mill
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STAGE 3: SEARCH FOR &
FIND INFORMATION
FROM LIBRARY BOOKS
Library Catalogue searching tips:
• Use your keywords (or alternate terms) to search the Library Catalogue for factual, in-depth information from books and DVDs.
• When searching the catalogue remember to limit your search to Perth campus.
• Note the location details and the status of any items of interest.
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Books tab
Library Catalogue - Search Page
Enter your search terms and choose options from the drop-down boxes
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Library Catalogue - Search Results
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Item Record
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Reference Books
- Also check your Public Library for books on this topic -
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FROM LIBRARY DATABASES
ESL Subject Guide - Databases/Magazines - Australian NZ Reference Centre -
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Search Screen
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- List of Results -
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- Full Text of Article & Options -
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- APA Citation Provided -
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FROM ABS(AUSTRALIAN BUREAU
OF STATISTICS)
ABS – www.abs.gov.au - to find statistics
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FROM THE WEB
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Australian Governm
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Australian Educational site - .edu.auG
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STAGE 4: EVALUATE YOURINFORMATION
Stage 4: Evaluate your information
• When evaluating information from websites, it can be difficult to determine how reliable the information is.
• There is little control as anyone can create a website on any topic.
• A lot of the information on the Internet is commercial or personal.
• If you examine the URL or address of a website, it can be helpful in deciding if it is an appropriate site.
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List of Organisational Types List of Country Codes
.com commercial .au Australia
.edu education .nz New Zealand
.gov government .uk United Kingdom
.net network .de Germany
.org organisation no code USA
Generally, the websites that have .edu or .gov in the URL will be more reliable.
If you want Australian sites, add .au to your search.
URL Codes
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Examining URLs
For example, the URL www.canegrowers.com.au stands for:www - world wide webcanegrowers - name of sitecom - commercial siteau - Australian site
In summary: It is an Australian, commercial site that promotes the interests of cane growers.
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Examining, selecting and rejecting resources
Ask yourself these questions…√ Is the information correct?√ Is the information relevant?√ Is the information reliable? (who is the
author/sponsor?)√ Is the information up-to-date?√ Is the information free from bias? (is it trying to
persuade?)√ Is it what I need?
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ONLINE SEARCHING TIPS
Online searching tips…Boolean Operators
AND (+): limits the search as both keywords must appear in the document
sugar AND Australia
OR: expands the search as either keywords will appear in the documents
industry OR agriculture
NOT (-): limits the search as excludes one of the keywords from the documents
Queensland NOT NSW
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More searching tips….
• Quotation marks: searches for the phrase “sugarcane industry”
• In title: searches for that term within the titleintitle:canegrowers
• Site: searches for results from specific sites site:.gov
site:.au
• File type: searches for a particular file type filetype:ppt
filetype:pdf
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STAGE 5: REFERENCE YOUR
INFORMATION
Stage 5: Reference your information
When taking notes for an assignment, write down allthe relevant bibliographic details of your information sources that you will need to include in your Reference List.
For a book: author - year of publication - title - edition - place of
publication - publisher
For a website: author or sponsor or organisation - year of creationor update year - title of web page - URL
For more information on referencing
Clipart sourced from Microsoft Office
- APA Referencing Guide -
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Remember!
If you require further assistance:
Ask at the Library Service Desk
Email: [email protected]
Check out the OIL (Online Information Literacy) modules on the library website @ www.central.wa.edu.au/library
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Student Exercises - ESL subject Guide - guides.dtwd.wa.gov.au/central-esl
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