In the LOCATE stage, we:
- Explore different search platforms and assess their usefulness
- Use search strategies to improve our search results within each platform
- Start searching!
CONSIDER: How do we know if the platforms we are searching will provide credible sources within search results?
Where do we find resources?
| Sources/Search Platforms | Details | Student Access |
|---|---|---|
| Books | Find books relevant to the topic using our catalogue. | School Library Catalogue See slider below which includes a list of titles reserved in the library for Year 11 Biology students only. |
| Databases | Predominantly journals, peer reviewed articles and dissertations that are scholarly in nature and credible. | Explora EBSCO Databases Access via School Library News website using your school credentials. |
| Search Engines | Broad searching that offers millions of hits by any author. | Google, Bing, Yahoo NOTE: Search engines can be useful depending on your needs. |
| Discovery Platforms | Platform that can search multiple databases, websites and/or news sites. | State Library |
| Reference Texts | Encyclopaedias, dictionaries: provide a good starting point for key terms (often used during the DEFINE stage of research). | Oxford Reference (via State Library) NOTE: These reference texts offer invaluable information but offer pretty dense reading. Biology Online offers similar information but is easier to read and navigate. |
| News Websites | Quality and credibility can vary depending on the news site | The Age (via iSimonds) NOTE: Try searching through back issues via the ‘Archives’ link. |
| General websites | Can be authored by anyone on the internet so it is important to evaluate its credibility carefully using SCRAPit. Check the type of website first: .edu, .gov, .net, .org are often more reliable as they come from an organisation that is more trustworthy. | Biodiversity Heritage Library A plethora of amazing information on Australia’s history of biodiversity. Whilst its focus is on our history, it might offer information on how issues around your topic have evolved. Wikipedia NOTE: Wikipedia can be a great place to start your research and the footnotes often have some valuable sources of information. REMEMBER: It can be edited by anyone hence it is not appropriate as reference in your bibliography. |
How do we search effectively for these sources and/or within these sources?
We use search strategies that improve the effectiveness of our searches. We will focus on the following strategies for this task.
Search strategies enable you to widen or narrow your search depending your needs.
Boolean Operators use a combination of words and symbols that improve your search results.
Filters help specify the details of your search.